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RECENT ITEMS PUBLISHED
IN THE HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION SECTION OF THE MEMBERS SECTION THAT YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO MISS
Thursday, February 4, 2010
For those of you who
haven't figured out that our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis is the
foremost authority on high school basketball in his part of the country, I
suggest that you check out our
West Coast Report,
which was published
earlier today exclusively in the Members Section and includes
his ranking of the top 211 seniors, top 182 juniors, top 185 sophomores, top
101 freshmen, top 25 8th Graders, top five 7th Graders, and top 6th Grader.
And, if that weren't enough, we also provide you with some analysis of each
class by yours truly; our five All-West Coast Teams, which include the top
25-ranked players regardless of class and position; and a First Team
All-Time All-West Coast Team, which includes our choice of the top 10-ranked
players in the history of high school basketball on the West Coast. And
anybody who makes this list is in pretty fast company, as it includes
Bill Walton, Kevin Love, David Greenwood, Sidney Wicks,
John Williams, Marques Johnson, Jason Kidd, Raymond
Lewis, Gail Goodrich, and Mike Bibby. That's eight
players from California, one player from Oregon, one player from Arizona,
and six players who played for UCLA. We also think it's important to get
the top players right and we find it interesting that a quick look at
Trigonis' West Coast
Report, reveals that 11 of his top dozen
ranked players in the Class of 2010 are the same as we have on our national
list. Trigonis also backs up his credibility with a long list of players
that he discovered and/or knew about before anybody else. It includes
Casey Jacobsen, Trevor Ariza, Trevon Bryant, Ellis
Myles, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan, Evan Burns,
Kirk Snider, Jamal Boykin, Jeremy Hazell, Renaldo
Woolridge, Kyle Fogg, Carlon Brown, and Seketoure Henry.
However, Trigonis is best known for the plethora of events, including the
Pangos Dream Classic in January, the Fullcourt Press Spring
League in March, the Fullcourt Press Easter Classic in
April, the Fullcourt Press Spring Showcase in May, the
Pangos All-American Camp in June, the Fullcourt Press All-West
Camp and the Fullcourt Press Cream of the Crop Challenge
in July, the Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase and the
Fullcourt Press Hoops Classic in September, and all of his
Fullcourt Press Frosh/Soph Camps in October, that he runs throughout
the course of the year. And, if that weren't enough, Trigonis also is the
Editor and Publisher of Full Court Press, which can be found
by clicking onto
fullctpress.net;
coaches Belmont Shore, which is one of the top club team programs on the
West Coast; and is on the board of directors for the GBOA (Grassroots
Basketball of America). No wonder Trigonis knows who all the
players are....he's got his hand in everything. And now he has the best
list of players available for anybody who is interested in high school
basketball on the West Coast. As a matter of fact, he might have the only
list available. And, if you don't believe me, just check around. It's
almost impossible to find a ranking of the top players on the West Coast,
except right here in our West Coast Report.
This
report also is the perfect complement to Allen Rubin's
Philadelphia Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report,
which was published on
November 8th, Andre Whitehead's
Tennessee Report,
which was published on January 21st; and
Lavel's Johnson's
Mississippi Report,
which was published on January 27th. Next up will be
Rick Lewis' North Carolina Report,
which I suspect will be published sometime next week, followed by reports
from places like Texas, Florida, and New York City. So obviously now is the
perfect time to
subscribe.
Wednesday, January 27,
2010
Right on schedule earlier today we published
Lavel Johnson's
updated
Mississippi Report,
which is can be found exclusively in the
Members Section
and includes his ranking of the top 100 seniors, top 85 juniors, top 40
sophomores, top 20 freshmen, top five 8th Graders, and top five 7th Graders;
some expert analysis that focuses primarily on the incredible junior class
in the Magnolia State; five All-State Teams that include the top 25 players
in the state regardless of class and position; and the First Team All-Time
All-State Team that includes Chris Jackson, Monta Ellis,
Othello Harrington, Purvis Short, and James Robinson.
That last one is especially interesting, because Johnson picked Robinson
over some pretty fast company (i.e. Al Jefferson, Antonio McDyess,
Ronnie Henderson, and Jonathan Bender). Bender broke
Michael Jordan's scoring record in the 1994 McDonald's All-American
Game, but Bender played on a lousy high school team and did not have a
stellar high school career. So I agree with Johnson on this one. The same
also can be said with regards to McDyess, who was ranked among the top 25
players nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in the Class of 1993 , but
really did not become a great player until he reached the NBA in 1995. On
the other hand, a quick look at our archives
shows that Henderson
was one of the top five-ranked high school seniors nationally in the great
class of 1993, which also included Randy Livingston, Jerry
Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Dontonio Wingfield,
Rashard Griffith, Jacque Vaughn, Joey Beard, Charles
O'Bannon, Keith Booth, et al., and Jefferson was ranked #6 in the
great class of 2004, behind Dwight Howard, Andray Blatche,
Shaun Livingston, Josh Smith, and Sebastian Telfair and
ahead of Marvin Williams, Rudy Gay, Robert Swift,
Juan Diego Palacios, and Malik Hairston. I would take either one
of these two players over Robinson, who was ranked among the top 20 seniors
nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in 1989. However, Johnson stands firm
in this debate, which is good, because it may start some controversy.
Remember, there are no right or wrong answers with regards to all of this,
as a long as you can back up your opinion with solid facts and sound
reasoning. And, in the case of Johnson, he tells us that Robinson averaged
over 40 ppg as a high school senior and this was before players from the
Magnolia State started going to camps and playing AAU ball on a national
stage. We also probably didn't dwell enough on what might have been if
Renardo Sidney didn't move to the West Coast before his sophomore year
of high school and if 6'9 Jr LaQuinton Ross hadn't transferred from
Jackson (Murrah) MS earlier this month to Burlington (Life Center) NJ. Just
think how good Sidney could have been if he hadn't gained so much weight and
hadn't gotten corrupted by the process? The jury is still out on Ross. But
just think how good Jackson (Callaway) MS, which was the school that he
attended when he was a freshman, would be right now if Ross was teamed up
with 5'11 Jr Marquavius "Deville" Smith, who is one of the premier
point guards nationally in the nation, and was playing for Wayne Brent,
who previously was an assistant coach at the University of Mississippi and
is now recognized as one of the top high school coaches in the nation? And
making the story even more interesting is the fact that next great player in
the state promises to be 5'10 7th Grader Malik Newman from Durant,
MS, who is currently ranked #5 nationally in the Class of 2015 by the
HOOP SCOOP. However, the smart money says that Newman will not follow
the same path as Sidney and Ross, despite the fact that he is coming up
through the ranks in the same club team program that produced both of these
aforementioned players who were highly touted at an early age. Newman has a
great bloodline (his father Horatio Webster was an All-Southeastern
Conference player at Mississippi State in the mid-90's) and it appears that
he has the same great attitude, work ethic, and competitiveness that his
father had as a player. It also looks like Newman will get the stability
and coaching that he needs to become a great player, as the word on the
street is that their are already plans when the time comes for him to enroll
at Callaway High School and play for Wayne Brent. Johnson also wants
me to add two events that will be taking place this spring in his backyard
to our events calendar.
The first is the Battle of the South
Classic, which will be held in Jackson, MS on
March 26th-28th, and the second is the Big River Classic,
which will be held in Jackson, MS on April 9th-11th. For more information
on the former click onto
msboyshoops.com
and for more information on the latter
click onto
marcrowe.com.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
With
the publication earlier today of our Andre Whitehead's updated
Tennessee Report
exclusively in the
Members Section,
we are in the process of kicking off our next major project, which will be
to update all of our
Area &
State-by-State Reports
within the next several months. And the hardest part is already out of the
way due to the fact that we published Allen Rubin's
Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report on November
8, 2009. Next up will be Lavel Johnson's
Mississippi Report, which we plan to
publish on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, and our West
Coast Report, which will include the states of
California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona, and will be published
sometime late next week. Then, right before I head to the 2010
National Prep School Invitational at the
University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI on February 4th-7th, we will
publish Rick Lewis' North Carolina
Report. And right after we return from prep
school tournament the plan is to publish our Texas Report.
Right after that it will be off to the
Prime Time Shootouts in Piscataway, NJ
and Trenton, NJ and when I return my focus will turn onto publishing reports
from places like Ohio, Florida, New England, New York City, and the upper
Midwest which includes the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. And we
will do the same thing in all of these reports that we've done in the both
Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report
and the
Tennessee Report
with regards to putting together a First Team All-Time All-State/All-Area
Team. The former includes Wilt Chamberlain, Rasheed Wallace,
Dajuan Wagner, Kobe Bryant, and Guy Rodgers and the
latter includes 6'7 Anfernee Hardaway, Johnny Neumann,
Derrick Hord, and Brandan Wright. Obviously this will be the
subject of a lot of debate and interest and now is the perfect time to send
me an email at
hoopscooponline@msn.com,
if you want to lobby for a particular player and/or want to make sure that
we don't miss somebody that you think it is important in a particular area.
We also have some verbal commitments to pass along, including 6'7 Toby
Veal from Northwest Florida (JC) FL to Virginia Commonwealth, 5'11 Jr
George Marshall from Chicago (Brooks) IL to the University of Wisconsin,
6'3 Rico Sanders from Alabama Southern (JC) AL to South Alabama, 6'8
Fran Dougherty from Warminster (Archbishop Wood) PA to the University
of Pennsylvania, and 6'1 Derrick Rodgers from Citrus (JC) CA to the
University of Portland. That first one is especially noteworthy due to the
fact that Veal is ranked #49 in the junior college ranks by
JucoJunction.com and was ranked #86
nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2008
when he was a high school senior at Savannah (Sol C. Johnson) GA who signed
with the University of Colorado. We also are impressed with the group of
players who have been named to participate on of the USA Team in this year's
NIKE Hoop Summit, which will held
on Saturday, April 10th in Portland, OR. We talking about 6'8 Jared
Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'3 Brandon Knight from
Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.)
IA, 6'3 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Tobias
Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallows Hills West) NY, 6'6 Will Barton
from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'9 Terrence Jones from
Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'7 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC,
and 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA. The
USA Team will face an elite group of international player on a World Select
Team that has yet to be named. We also think it's important to note that
they players who participate in this game will be exempt from the two-game
all-star game limit that high school players are subject to by NCAA rules.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Our
West Coast Editor Alan Utter has been watching high school basketball
for the last two months in his backyard and he tells us the most exciting
thing he's seen was the 48-point performance turned in by 6'2 Jr Josiah
Turner from Sacramento (H.S.) CA in the Oaks Christian Holiday
Classic at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake, CA. And making this
even more impressive is the fact that Turner hit the game winning 3-point
shot at the buzzer to give him team a 72-71 victory over Pasadena (H.S.)
CA. Currently we have Turner ranked #45 nationally in the junior class, but
Utter thinks he's clearly the best junior in the state. "He's averaging 30
ppg and is one of the best passers I've seen in a long time," says Utter.
"He has unreal court vision and a tremendous knack for getting his teammates
the ball when they're in a position to score. Turner is also impossible to
stop when he drives to the basket. You can double team him and he will
still beat you off the dribble. He also is good at making the off-balance
floater and is an excellent 3-point shooter. I also like his intensity,
nose for ball, ability to rebound for his size, and willingness to defend.
But it's his length, hops, and incredible athleticism that will make him a
great point guard someday in the NBA. We're talking about the next great
point guard on the West Coast and a player with the complete package, except
maybe for his grades." Right now it looks like UCLA and Washington are the
two schools that you have beat, but this also is a guy who has already
reneged once last summer on a verbal commitment that he made to Arizona
State and a player whose mother already is talking about her son being a
one-and-done kind of guy. Utter also is singing the praises 6'6 Frosh
Isaac Hamilton from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, who is the best freshman
he's seen in a long time. "Hamilton also is the best pure shooter on the
West Coast right now," says Utter. "Even better than Gary Franklin.
I saw Hamilton hit 6-7 3-pointers in the Tip-Off Classic and the one
he missed was off-the-dribble and it was in-and-out. Hamilton also has the
athleticism and bloodline necessary to evolve into just as good a player as
his older brother (Jordan Hamilton)." However, Utter thinks the
younger Hamilton will project as a better outside shooter and predicts that
he will not have the same off-the-court difficulties due to the fact that
he's a good student and a humble quiet kid. Utter also tells us that Los
Angeles (Price) CA, which beat Cerritos (Gahr) CA, 75-66, last weekend in
the Pangos Dream Classic at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, CA,
is arguably the best team in Southern California. And that's saying a lot
when one remembers that Los Angeles (Westchester) CA and Santa Ana (Mater
Dei) CA are nationally ranks teams and Woodland Hills (Taft) CA is also
loaded with talent. What makes Price so good are 6'9 Richard Solomon
and 6'5 Allen Crabbe, both of whom have signed with the University of
California and have improved during the last year to point where they are
now legit top 50-100 ranked seniors nationally. "Crabbe had 36 points and
was scoring every which way imaginable (against Gahr)," says Utter. "He's
bigger, stronger, more athletic, and a better shooter than he was a year
ago. Solomon has grown to 6'9 and he outplayed Angelo Chol two weeks
ago when I saw Price beat Hoover. Solomon has become more aggressive, plays
harder and smarter, and has also turned into a very good scorer." Price
also has 6'7 Soph Skylar Spencer, who is a raw athletic sophomore
with the strength and build necessary to evolve into a big time player.
And, if they ever get 6'10 Jr Norvel Pelle eligible before the season
ends, this could become an even better team than it is right now. Utter
also agrees with us about 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater
Dei) CA being the best senior in Southern California, which means that
Golden Bears head coach Mike Montgomery and his staff have pulled off
a major recruiting coup right in UCLA's and USC's backyard. However, this
comes as no surprise to us, as Montgomery's right hand man (Jay John)
previously was the head coach at Oregon State and is one of the top ranked
assistant coaches in the country by the HOOP SCOOP and Golden Bears
assistant coach Gregg Gottlieb is one of the top up-and-coming guys
in the business and is an Orange County native. Utter also tells us that
the top two unsigned seniors in his backyard are 6'2 Jordin Mayes
from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA and 6'2 Deonta Burton from Compton
(Centennial) CA. However, Burton may not be on the board too much longer
due to the fact that the smart money is on UCLA offering him a scholarship
sometime in the immediate future. If you will recall, in December UCLA
landed 6'1 Lazeric Jones from John A. Logan (JC) IL. But getting
Burton would be a good insurance policy, as the Bruins are in desperate need
of help at the point guard position. Burton is a good all-around point
guard and has that street toughness that the Bruins are missing. And Mayes
does too, although Mayes is more of a 2-guard than a point guard due to the
fact that what he does best is shoot the basketball and he hasn't been
called upon to run a team until this year.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The
best event that I attended all last winter was the
Spalding HoopHall Classic
in Springfield, MA. And this year's event, which will be held January
15th-18th, promises to be even better as the field will include 12 of the
top 21-ranked teams in the
ESPN Fab 50 High School Poll,
which was published earlier this week. This list includes #1-ranked
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, #2-ranked Columbus (Northland) OH, #3-ranked
Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, #4-ranked Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, #6-ranked
Paterson (Catholic) NJ, #9-ranked Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, #10-ranked
Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, #12-ranked Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA,
#13-ranked Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, #14- ranked Washington (Gonzaga) DC,
#15-ranked Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and #21-ranked Winter Park (H.S.) FL.
And, if that weren't enough, the level of talent will be second to none as
20 of our top 100-ranked seniors, eight of our top 100-ranked juniors, and
five of our top 100-ranked sophomores will be in attendance. In the senior
class we're talking about #1-ranked 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus
(Northland) OH, #5-ranked 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St.
Patrick) NJ, #7-ranked 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay
Prep) NV, #-10-ranked 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA,
#11-ranked 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills West)
NY, #12-ranked 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA,
#14-ranked 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA,
#22-ranked 6'6 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, #23-ranked 6'2
Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, #31-ranked 5'8 Ahmad
Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, #34-ranked 6'2 Cory Joseph
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, #37-ranked 6'5 Keala King from
Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, #42-ranked 6'4 Tyler Lamb from Santa Ana
(Mater Dei) CA, #43-ranked 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St.
Anthony) NJ, #48-ranked 6'7 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA, #57-ranked 6'2 Tony Chennault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti)
PA, #64-ranked 6'7 Dwayne Polee from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ,
#85-ranked Jerani Grant from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, #87-ranked 6'2
Jordin Mayes from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and #96-ranked 6'6
Derrick Williams from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ. In the junior
class we're talking about #1-ranked 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, #2-ranked 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Ft.
Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, #10-ranked 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from
Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, #16-ranked 6'6 Jr Samuel "P.J." Hairston
from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, #18-ranked 6'1 Jr Quinn Cook from
Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, #51-ranked 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson
(Catholic) NJ, #63-ranked 6'8 Jr Mikael Hopkins from Hyattsville (DeMatha)
MD, and #70-ranked 6'3 Nick Johnson from Henderson (Findlay Prep)
NV. In the sophomore class we're talking about #4-ranked 6'7 Soph
Winston Sheppard from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, #10-ranked 6'6 Soph
Kyle Anderson from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, #45-ranked 6'2 Soph
James Robinson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, and #67-ranked 6'3 Soph
Reginald Dillard from Greensboro (Dudley) NC. We're also hoping that
6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss, who is our #2-ranked freshman, will be
fully recovered and get some quality minutes after being sidelined with an
injury this past fall, and that 6'6 Frosh Jabari Parker from Chicago
(Simeon) IL, who is our #9-ranked freshman nationally and is the first
freshman in the history of the school to play on the varsity, will continue
to get meaningful playing time. Things will tip-off on Friday, January
15th, with three girls games at 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM, and 6:00 PM, followed by
two local games with Springfield (Sabis Charter) MA versus Cheshire (Hoosac
Valley) MA at 7:30 PM and Northampton (H.S.) MA versus East Longmeadow (H.S.)
MA at 9:00 PM. The schedule on Saturday, January 16th, will begin with
Springfield (Central) MA versus Huntsville (Columbia) AL at 11:00 AM,
followed by Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT versus Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills
West) NY at 12:30 PM, Covington (Kentwood) WA versus Kinston (H.S.) NC at
2:00 PM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Columbus (Northland) OH at
4:00 PM, Washington (Gonzaga) DC versus Winter Park (H.S.) FL at 5:30
PM, and Springfield (Science & Technology) MA versus New Britain (H.S.) CT
at 7:00 PM. The schedule on Sunday, January 17th, will begin with Chicopee
(H.S.) MA versus Warwick (Bishop Hendricken) RI at 10:30 AM, followed by
Springfield (Sabis Charter) MA versus Groton (Groton-Dunstable) MA at Noon,
Chicago (Simeon) IL versus Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA at 2:00 PM,
Paterson (Catholic) NJ versus Baltimore (St. Frances) MD at 4:00 PM,
Westfield (H.S.) MA versus Wareham (H.S.) MA at 5:30 PM, and Springfield
(Cathedral) MA versus Fiskdale (Tantasqua) MA at 7:00 PM. And finally the
schedule on Monday, January 18th, will begin with Newark (St. Benedict)
NJ versus Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA at 11:00 AM, followed by
Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ versus Los Angeles (Westchester) CA at 1:00 PM,
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV at 3:00 PM,
Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD versus Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA at 5:00 PM,
Springfield (Central) MA versus Springfield (High School of Commerce) MA at
6:30 PM, and Holyoke (H.S.) MA versus South Hadley (H.S.) MA at 8:00 PM.
And you can watch the game in bold on Saturday on ESPN and the four games in
bold on Monday on ESPNU. Or you can check back right here and get all of
the highlights and our expert analysis as the tournament progresses.
Oh! I forget, if you're reading this you don't have access to the
Members Section.
But then again, you get what you pay for. To solve this problem right now we
encourage you to
subscribe.
Friday,
January 1, 2010
It's
become a ritual in recent years to publish our
HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams
right at the beginning of the year and this list always includes our updated
ranking of top 100 high school players in the nation regardless of class and
position. A quick look at our current list shows that five 5th Year
Players, 61 seniors, 30 juniors, four sophomores, and zero freshmen make up
our list of 100. And a quick look at our HOOP SCOOP All-American Team
from July 20, 2009 shows
that the top five players nationally - 6'8 Jared Sullinger from
Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St.
Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'4 Jr
Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, and 6'3 Brandon Knight
from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL - have remained the same. However, we
are no longer listing 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL
as verbally committed to the University of Florida due to the fact that he
made an unofficial visit this fall to Duke and other visits are also being
planned. Another player who falls into this category is 6'6 Terrence
Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who not only did not sign
with the University of Maryland during the Fall Signing Period, but
also has re-opened his recruitment and also is now considering schools like
Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas. On the other hand, we're still listing 6'9
Marquez "Luke" Cothron from Red Springs (Flora MacDonald Academy) NC
with N.C State's recruiting class, which is currently tied at #8, along with
Villanova and Tennessee, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2010,
despite the fact that
he didn't sign with the Wolfpack during the Fall Signing Period. But
that could change if Cothron starts taking visits to other schools and/or
comes out and reneges on his commitment. Getting back to Ross, he currently
is one of the fastest rising players in the nation and, as a result, is one
of the new additions to our
HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams,
as he checks in on the Thirteenth Team, along with 6'1 Ian Miller
from Charlotte (United Faith) NC, who also falls into this category.
However, the fastest rising elite player on this list is 6'5 Doron Lamb
from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who jumps from the 8th Team to the
3rd Team, and the hottest new name on the list is 6'10 Enes Kanter
from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, who has more than lived up to his
press clippings since arriving in this country last August. Other players
who have made major moves up since we last updated these rankings
five-and-a-half months ago include 6'8 Quincy Miller from
Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, 6'3 Jr Bradley Beal
from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO, 6'3 Vander Blue from Madison
(Memorial) WI, 6'4 Lorenzo Brown from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA,
6'7 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Keala
King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) MO, and 6'8 Jr Julian Royal from
Alpharetta (Milton) GA. We've also added several more sophomores to our
list, as guys like 6'7 Soph Perry Ellis from Wichita (Heights) KS,
6'5 Soph Justin Anderson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, and
6'7 Soph Winston Shepherd from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV continue
to mature and develop. But, at the same time, we dropped 6'4 Soph
Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV from the 13th Team to
the 14th Team due to the fact that every time we're supposed to see him play
he's missing in action with an injury. We also think it's interesting to
point out that the Sunshine State has two players - 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers
from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, and 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft.
Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL - on the First Team. And North Carolina has the
most players ranked among the top 50 players on this list with five (Quincy
Miller, Reggie Bullock, C.J. Leslie, P.J. Hairston,
and J.T. Terrell) and Virginia has the most players ranked among the
top 100 players on this list with nine (James McAdoo, Doron Lamb,
Kendall Marshall, Lorenzo Brown, Roscoe Smith,
Dominique Ferguson, Travis McKie, Michael Gbinije, and
C.J. Barksdale). However, before anybody gets too excited and starts
touting this as the best basketball area in the nation, it's important to
remember that it gets a major boast from Oak Hill Academy, which checks in
with players who are originally from New York, Maryland, and Indiana;
Hargrave Military, which has a player who is originally from Georgia; and
Quality Education Academy, which has a player who is originally from
Illinois.. On the the other hand, traditional hotbeds like New York,
Indiana, and Illinois only have four players apiece ranked among the top 100
players on this list and Pennsylvania only has two players on this list.
And what about Nevada, which has a disproportionate number of names (Tristan
Thompson, Corey Joseph, and Winston Shepherd) on this list
due to the fact that Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV is now the premier high
school basketball factory in the United States?
Editor's Note: We
encourage you to
subscribe
to the Members
Section in order to find out exactly where all of these players are
ranked.
Sunday,
December 27, 2009
Today is a dead day for the Beach Ball Classic
in Myrtle Beach, SC and, as a result,
now is a good time to tie together some loose ends. And right at the top of
list is the ongoing problem of people sharing their user names and passwords
to the Members Section of this web site with their friends,
co-workers, and acquaintances. I realize we're never going to totally
eliminate this from happening, but making everybody change their passwords
once in a while will go along way towards achieving this goal. The last
time we did this was several year ago, so it will be long overdue when I
make this happen in early January. The Division I colleges and universities
for which I have a user name and password will be exempt. But everybody
else will be forced to come up with a new password, which means now is a
good time to come up with something that is unique to you and that you'll be
able to remember. I also encourage anybody who foresees a problem or just
wants to change their user name and/or password to call me at (502) 500-4667
or email me at
hoopscooponline@msn.com
within the next week or 10 days. In other words, I'm
not going to be too sympathetic to the same old people who call me after
they find out that their user and password no longer work due to the fact
the person they gave it to changed it on them, but forget to tell them.
Moral to the story, it's time to ante up, if you've been using somebody
else's user name and password to get into the Members Section and
read what's on this web site on a regular basis. And to give people even
more of an incentive to subscribe of renew their subscription at the current
time, I also am planning on raising the subscription price to the web site
sometime in January or February from $45 to $50 per month. That way people
who decide to subscribe for a longer period of time will receive substantial
savings (i.e. subscribe for three months at a cost of $125 and get a $25
discount, subscribe for six month at a cost of $250 and get a $50 discount,
and subscribe for one-year at a cost of $499 and get a $99 discount). I
also want to take a minute to thank everybody for their feedback with
regards to our comments a week ago about the credibility of Greg Hicks
and Tracy Pierson, who publish the
BruinReportOnline.com, and their ranking
of players like Jerime Anderson. I heard from a number of UCLA fans,
some people in the business and with other web sites, and even several
parents of players and I am amazed at how little support that Hicks and
Pierson actually have. It's so bad that I almost feel sorry for them. As a
matter of fact, the most critical email that I received was from somebody
who wrote the following: "You're getting too caught up in the actual #
ranking and ordering players. Not everyone who is ranked highly will pan
out. Where did you have Russell Westbrook in 06? What's the beef
with Cummard? He had an outstanding career at BYU and probably would've had
an outstanding career at nearly every school he played. Anderson may or may
not be a miss - too early to tell - but the reality is each evaluator will
have some misses now and then - I'm sure you have a few as well, no?" I
certainly do, but I try not to be an arrogant you know what and admit it
when I find out that I'm wrong. As for Westbrook, Hicks and then UCLA
assistant coach Kerry Keating deserve a lot of credit for discovering
one of the biggest sleepers to come down the pike in a long time. With
regards to Cummard, we didn't say he didn't turn out to be a good player.
But to make the argument that he was better than Arron Afflalo then
and/or now is a little ridiculous. Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis
also would like to weigh in about Jamal Boykin being another major
miss by Hicks and Pierson and he illustrates his point in the following
email: "While the Kansas guard play of Sherron Collins
and Tyshawn Taylor helped the Jayhawks turn a close game up until the
final minutes into a 84-69 sizeable victory over Cal, it was no fault of 6'7
Jamal Boykin,
whose 15 points and 15 boards (12 in the first half) kept the Golden Bears
in the game (Cal only trailed by one at the half after having leads for a
huge chunk of the period). Boykin was 7/13 from the field and also
contributed two assists and two steals against the #1 ranked Jayhawks and
statistically outplayed projected NBA lotto pick Cole Aldrich (10
points/10 boards) while playing a season-high 37 minutes.
Boykin now averages 12.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg (team best) while shooting 62% from
the field (best among Cal starters) through Cal's first 10 games. Boykin
led the Golden Bears in rebounding, FG %, and "double-doubles" in 2008-09.
Boykin's talents and accomplishments while in high school have also been the
subject of intense recruiting debate for the past nine years. As his club
coach during his high school days, I received much ridicule and chagrin for
labeling him a high-major prospect at that time and his signing with Duke in
November 2004 was scoffed at by those so called gurus in the know. Many
thought he would never see any meaningful playing time or contribute
anything to a high-major program. One of those so-called pure experts
Greg Hicks (Scout.com) felt that he wasn't even worthy of being
considered within the Top 10 Class of 2005 West Coast players at his
power-forward position, despite his lengthy high school and club ball
accomplishment. Even though he is a fantastic young man with many admirable
personal qualities, many of those same persons have still ignored his
considerable college achievements while at Cal.
I think it's finally time for those who for far too long have belittled and
disrespected this great young man to come forward and admit that they made a
mistake and give him the credit that he deserves and has earned and restore
a little bit of credibility to their own scouting reputations."
Not only do I echo that, but I have a suggestion for Hicks and Pierson. If
you want to rehabilitate your imagine, try being nice to somebody once in a
while. And don't be so arrogant. We also have received word from our other
West Coast Editor Alan Utter about 6'1 Lazeric Jones from John
A. Logan (JC) IL picking UCLA over schools like Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada,
DePaul, Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. Whether Jones is
just the best quick fix currently available or the ideal solution to the
Bruins point guard problems remains to be seen. However, we do know that
Jones is ranked #15 in the junior college ranks by
JucoJunction.com
and at last report was averaging 10.7 ppg and 5.8 apg. Jones joins 6'8
Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA and 6'5 Tyler Smith from
Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA in a recruiting class that is now ranked #13 on our
list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.
Sunday,
December 20, 2009
It
really is like the blind leading the blind. We're talking about Greg
Hicks and Tracy Pierson, who publish the
BruinReportOnline.com,
which is a web site that covers UCLA sports. If you recall, these are the
geniuses who ranked Lee Cummard over Aaron Afflalo and
Quentin Thomas over Jordan Farmar, thought Jerime Anderson
was a better prospect than Brandon Jennings, had Anderson ranked
higher than Malcolm Lee, thought Anthony Stover was a high
Division I prospect, have never given 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa
Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'8 Jr DeAndre Daniels from Woodland Hills
(Taft) CA their just due, and think UCLA should offer a scholarship to 6'1
Jr Gary Bell from Kent (Kentridge) WA. We bring this up, because
earlier this week Greg Hicks wrote the following on his web site:
"One thing people need to keep in mind is that Anderson was a very good
prospect. There's a reason that every scout with a clue (not to mention
numerous coaches across the country) liked him so much out of high school.
That he hasn't developed into the player that everyone thought he would be
is on him and the UCLA staff. You don't see many top prospects that are
worse in their sophomore year of college than they were as high school
seniors. Whether Anderson can recover and fulfill the promise that he once
showed remains to be seen." First of all, I would like to point out that I
have always maintained that Anderson was overrated and that he was never
good enough to be more than a good role player for the Bruins. Second, I
have stood the test of time in the business (I've been publishing the
HOOP SCOOP for almost 27 years). I also have been the recruiting
analyst for Basketball Times, which is the top monthly basketball
publication in the nation, for over 20 years, am a member of the
McDonald's All-American Selection Committee, and have been recognized by
numerous publications, including Sports Illustrated, as one of the
foremost authorities on high school basketball in the United States. So
obviously when Hicks implies that I didn't have a clue about how good
Anderson was in high school, he's doesn't know what he's talking about. As
a matter of fact, after watching Anderson score nine points in the
semi-finals and 16 points in the Silver Division Championship Game at the
Double Pump Best of the Summer High School Boy's Basketball Tournament
at Cal State Dominquez Hills in Carson, CA on July 31, 2007, I told Hicks
that I thought he was right about having to watch Anderson play in his high
school setting to appreciate him. And this is important, because Anderson
was a soft Orange County player who at the time would have been a good fit
for a school in the Western Athletic/Mountain West Conference or the
mid-major level. In other words, the proof of the budding in the eating,
as Hicks is clearly as out to lunch with his evaluations as he is with
regards to the way he perceives his peers. Even more offensive is the fact
that he tends to blame everybody but himself for the fact that Anderson has
turned out to be a total bust. We're talking about a player who is
currently averaging 5.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, and 2.5 spg on a 3-7 team that has
already lost games to schools like Cal State-Fullerton, Portland, and Long
Beach State. On the other hand, UCLA head coach Ben Howland has
guided the Bruins to three NCAA Final Four appearances in the last four
years, is recognized as one of the top 10 head coaches in the game today by
the HOOP SCOOP, and is second to none in terms of X's and O's, game
preparation, getting the most out of his players, and successfully putting
freshmen and sophomores into the NBA. And Hicks' peers in the business
aren't the only ones that he appears to have contempt for, as he accuses his
readers of being clueless idiots. And, if you don't believe me, just check
out some of this quotes about Anderson after he had three points, two
rebounds, three assists, three turnovers, two steals, 1-11 field goals, 0-3
3-pointers, and 1-3 free throws in UCLA's opening season loss to Cal
State-Fullerton. "Jerime
Anderson having a bad game in his first college start didn't change the
fact that there are a bunch of lawyers, doctors and accountants on this
board that need to be reminded they're not experts in the field of
basketball. As I said originally, know your role. Buy your ticket, eat
your nachos, and do the eight-clap." As unbelievable as it might seem, this
is what Hicks repeatedly is saying to the people who subscribe to his web
site. In sharp contrast to Hicks, I don't think this is rocket science or
brain surgery. I also never cease to be amazed at the knowledge and
perspective of the avid college basketball fan. I also believe in the
importance of debate and seeking of insight of people who have different
opinions. However, Hicks and Pierson run
the
BruinReportOnline.com like two-bit
dictators in some small South American country, whereby, they talk down to
their audience and immediately erase any posting from their site that they
don't like or don't agree with. Not only do I think this is egregious, but
I have a tremendous amount of respect for the knowledge and passion that the
fans in our reading audience have and am often amazed at the insight and
prospective that they provide to the HOOP SCOOP. So with all this in
mind, I'm going to do two things. First, I want to hear from you about the
topic at hand. Do you argue with me or do you agree with Hicks? Second, in
the spirit of Christmas and the Holiday Season, I'm going to give a one-year
subscription to the Members Section to whoever sends me the best
email and 10 one-month subscriptions to the Members Section to other people
who provide me with their unique prospective on this topic. So I encourage
you to email me with your comments to
hoopscooponline@msn.com. And
whether you agree with me or disagree with me is irrelevant, as long as what
you say is in good taste and you back up your points with facts and solid
reasoning.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Our
Midwest Editor Antonio Curro called me yesterday and wanted me to
take a look at his new and improved web site, which you can link to by
clicking onto
NY2LA Sports.com.
And, after doing so, I must admit that I am quite impressed. Right at the
top of the home page are links to all of Curro's upcoming events, which are
the NY2LA Sports Extravaganza at
Nicolet High School in Glendale, WI on January 18th; Swish 'N
Dish Spring Warm-up in Milwaukee, WI on April
2nd-4th; NY2LA Sports Invitational
in Milwaukee, WI on May 21st-23rd;
Generation Next All-Star Camp in Milwaukee,
WI in June 2009. There also is a big picture of 6'8 Michael Gilchrist
from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and a link to the new ranking of the top
100 players nationally in the Class of 2011. And right below that are links
to the
Phenom
Nation
and
414 Hoops
web
sites. The former represents the future, as it features the top freshmen
and middle school players in the nation. The latter takes care of business
right in Curro's backyard, as its focus is exclusively on covering high
school hoops in the nation's Cheese State. Next to that you can do player
searches in the
NY2LA Sports.com
database
and below that are a list of recent commitments, a place to enter your email
address to receive emails from
NY2LA Sports.com,
a link to
NY2LA Sports.com's
twitter
page, some hot prospects, a calendar of events, an ad for one of his events,
and something called the "Daily Dime," which is where you can get articles
and updates on players. And finally at the bottom of the page is where you
can find
NY2LA Sports.com's
top 100-ranked
players in the Class of 2010, Class of 2011, Class of 2012, and Class of
2013. In case you were wondering, the top
10-ranked seniors are 1) 6'3 Brandon
Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 2) 6'6 Harrison Barnes
from Ames (H.S.) IA, 3) 6'10 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX,
4) 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 5) 6'6 Will
Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6) 6'9 Tristan Thompson
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 7) Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake
Clifton) MD, 8) 6'10 Adreian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, 9) 6'8
C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, and 10) 6'2 Kyrie
Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and the top 10-ranked juniors
are 1) 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 2)
6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, 3) 6'10 Jr Rakeem
Christmas from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, 4) 6'9 Jr
James McAdoo from Norfolk (Christian) VA, 5) 6'1 Jr Marquis Teague
from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6) 6'9 Jr Johnny O'Bryant from
Cleveland (Eastside) MS, 7) 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago
(Morgan Park) IL, 8) 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA,
9) 6'5 Jr Branden Dawson from Gary (Lew Wallace) IN, and 10) 6'4 Jr
Kevin Ware from Conyers (Rockdale County) GA.
NY2LA Sports.com
also is set to release its 2012 and 2013 National Player Rankings on
Wednesday and Thursday and, as a result, the end of the week will be the
perfect time to check back and see these updated rankings. Another thing
that Curro makes note of are "the
video game type numbers" that
6'5
Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL has been putting up
early in the season.
"Blackshear turned in a 40-point 21-rebound
effort last night to pace Morgan Park to a 7-0 record on the year," says
Curro. "He's stating his case that he is one of the prized recruits in the
2011 class." Also on Curro's list of "Hot Prospects" is 6'5 Jr Branden
Dawson from Gary (Lew Wallace) IN and he makes note of the fact that
Dawson is averaging over 30.0 ppg so far this season. "Dawson is a freakish
athlete with a huge upside," says Curro. "Another big name to keep tabs on
is Willie Cauley. This 6'10, 210-pound center had 34 points, 20
rebounds, and 10 blocks in a win over the weekend for his Spearville High
School in Kansas. He looks the part of one of the premier bigs on the rise
in the country." And don't sleep on 6'6 Roy Marshall from Milwaukee
(Pulaski) WI. "Marshall has a chance to take the country by storm the same
way Justin Coleman did this past spring/summer," says Curro. "He's
been putting up big numbers and last night helped his team to another win
with 29 points and 15 rebounds." Curro also can't stop singing the praises
of 6'4 Vander Blue from Madison (Memorial) WI, who jumped out of the
box in big fashion with 23 points, eight rebounds, six, assists, six steals,
and three blocks in his team's opening game of the season victory earlier
this month. "The McDonald's All-American candidate followed that up
with a 21-point effort this past weekend and is set for a huge test on
Saturday when his team faces Milwaukee King in the Converse/Eastbay
Classic." says Currro. "And don't forget the name Peter Jok.
This 6'5 freshman from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, IA is one of the
top freshmen in the country and will have the gyms filled with college
coaches in the coming years. Jok is a blend of size, athleticism, and skill
and has a lethal perimeter stroke that he uses to take over the game."
Curro also makes note of the fact that
NY2LA Sports.com
once again will feature a loaded calendar of events
during the spring and summer of 2010. "The Swish & Dish Spring
Warm-Up in recent years has featured the likes
of Harrison Barnes, Evan Turner, Vander Blue, Jereme
Richmond, Korie Lucious, Jamil Wilson, Adreian Payne,
Trent Lockett," says Curro. "This event is annually one of the best
events in the country and it promises to be loaded once again this spring."
And following this up on the third weekend in May will be the
NY2LA Sports Invitational,
which has drawn Wayne Blackshear, Keith Appling, Jakarr
Sampson, James "Zac" Price, and many of the other just mentioned
names in recent years. June will bring the Generation Next All-Star
Camp, which offers up one of the best development and exposure camps
for middle school talent in the country. "Players like Jabari Parker,
Duane Wilson Jr., Riley Dearing, Richard Freeman, Deonte Burton, Jonathan
Carson, James Blackmon, Alex Dykema, Kamil Williams, and Vijay
Blackmon are just a few of the names who've put it down at this camp
during the last several years." July will once again offer up a loaded
schedule with the Next Level Invitational
on July 6th-9th and the Summer Jam
on July 12th-15th. These events feature all games inside a state-of-the-art
facility and many of the biggest names in college basketball took in games
at these events last year," says Curro. "All the information can be found
at
NY2LA Sports.com.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
One of
the more interesting things that I've run across in a while is the
ESPN All-Decade Boys Basketball
Team,
which was compiled by Ronnie Flores and published on Wednesday,
December 2nd. The First
Five on the First Team
includes 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ (Class of 2001), 6'7
Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (Class of 2002),
6'8 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH (Class of
2003), 6'9 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD (Class
of 2006), and 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.
The Second Five
includes 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta
Christian) GA (Class of 2004), 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson
(Oak Hill) VA (Class of 2006, 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV
(Class of 2007), 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR (Class of
2007), and 6'4 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL (Class of
2007). The Third Five
includes 6'9 Darius Miles from East St Louis (H.S.) IL (Class of
2000), 6'9 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN (Class of 2000), 6'0
Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY (Class of 2004), 6'3
Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS (Class of 2005), and 6'2 Brandon
Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (Class of 2008. The
Second Team
listed
alphabetically includes 6'2 Avery Bradley from Henderson (Findlay) NV
(Class of 2009), 6'3 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL
(Class of 2003), 7'1 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA
(Class of 2001), 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL
(Class of 2001), 6'9 Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA
(Class of 2009), 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC (Class of
2002), 6'0 T.J. Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX (Class of
2001), 6'5 Eric Gordon from 6'5 Indianapolis (North Central) IN
(Class of 2007), 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO
(Class of 2005), 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS (Class of
2004), 6'6 Shaun Livington from Peoria (Central) IL (Class of 2004),
6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN (Class of 2005), 6'9
Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ (Class of 2008), 6'9
Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL (Class of 2002), and
6'8 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (Class of 2004).
First of all, Dwight Howard not being the
First Team
is ridiculous. If you
will recall, when Howard was a senior in high school we said he was one of
three best high school players to come down the pike in the last 10 years.
The other two were Kevin Garnett and LeBron James. And, while
I have always been a big fan of both Carmelo Anthony and Kevin
Durant, neither were as good as Brandon Jennings and Zach
Randolph when they were in high school. Remember, Randolph had about as
a good month as anybody has ever had at the high school level during the
spring of his senior year. It began when he
scored 28 points while leading his team to the Indiana State High School
Championship on Saturday, March 25, 2000. Three days later he proved
to be unstoppable with 23 points and 15 rebounds en route to game MVP honors
in the McDonalds All American Game. Four days after that he scored
24 points and took home game MVP honors in the NIKE Hoop Summit in
Indianapolis, IN. And several weeks later he had 39 points, 24 rebounds,
and four assists in the Derby Classic in Louisville, KY. However, he
still doesn't get the nod over Brandon Jennings, who would get my
vote for the final spot in my top five, along with LaBron James,
Dajuan Wagner, Dwight Howard, and Greg Oden. Not only did
Jennings totally dominate the AAU and club team circuit the spring and
summer before his senior year, but he also is the only player in history to
win back-to-back championships while playing on two different teams in the
Reebok Tournaments in Las Vegas, NV. He also led Oak Hill to the national
championship as a junior and was billed by yours truly as potentially one of
the top five point guards to ever player the game during the summer before
his junior year. We also think it's a no-brainer that Amare Stoudemire
should be in the Second
Five on the First Team,
along with Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Zach Randolph,
and Kevin Love. Not only did we like Stoudemire better when he was a
junior in high school than Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, and
Kwame Brown, all three of whom were drafted among the top four picks in
the 2001 NBA Draft, but Stoudemire had the heart and desire and size and
athleticism necessary to achieve greatness. Three important omissions to
the Second Team
are 6'8
Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ (Class of 2003), 6'7
Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA (Class of 2005), and 6'8
Michael Beasley from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA (Class of 2007). But in
the case of Beasley, maybe they thought he was a 5th Year Player.
"Those
considered 5th-year players in their final year of high school competition
were not considered," says the Editor's Note. Did you know that Beasley
actually was only in high school three years after being an 8th Grader twice
and then skipping his freshman when he joined O.J. Mayo & Billy
Walker in the sophomore class? I'm also kind of surprised that
Shannon Brown, Samardo Samuels, and T.J. Ford were named
to the Second Team. But I say that knowing that I take great pride in the
fact that we were the only one at the time with Ford ranked among the top
five players nationally in his class. The ESPN
All-Decade Boys Basketball Team
can be found by clicking onto
sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/basketball/boys/news/story?id=4686554.
Going
back even further, our list of the
Top Five-Ranked Players from
1990's
includes 6'4 Jason Kidd from Alameda (St. Joseph-Notre Dame) MA
(1992), 6'4 Randy Livingston from New Orleans (Neumann) LA (1993),
6'5 Felipe Lopez from New York (Rice) NY (1994), 6'10 Kevin
Garnett from Chicago (Farragut) IL (1995), and 6'2 Stephon Marbury
from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY (1995) and our list of the
Top 10-Ranked Players from
1990's
includes 6'9 Glenn Robinson from Gary (Roosevelt) IN (1991), 6'9
Chris Webber from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI (1991), 6'11
Rasheed Wallace from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA (1993), 6'6 Jerry
Stackhouse from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (1993), and 6'7 Ron
Mercer from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (1995). No, we didn't forget
6'6 Kobe Bryant from Ardmore (Lower Merion) PA, who edged out 6'9
Tim Thomas from Paterson (Catholic) NJ as the #1-ranked player in the
Class of 19966 due primarily to the fact that Bryant played harder than
Thomas. It's just that our rankings are based entirely upon what they did
in high school and, at the time, nobody thought Bryant was any better than
any of the top five-ranked players the previous year in the great Class of
1995. Our Top
Five-Ranked Players from 1980's
are 7'0
Patrick Ewing from Cambridge (Rindge & Latin) MA (Class of 1980), 6'5
Michael Jordan from Wilmington (Laney) NC (Class of 1981), 6'10
Alonzo Mourning from Chesapeake (Indian River) VA (Class of 1988), 6'11
Shawn Kemp from Elkhart (Concord) IN (Class of 1998), and 6'8
Billy Owens from Carlisle (H.S.) PA (Class of 1998). And, if you don't
believe Jordan should be on the list, take into account the fact that he was
the best 2-guard prospect as a junior in high school that Brick Oettinger
of Prep Stars.com and the Recruiter's Handbook
has ever seen, he took home MVP honors at the Five-Star Basketball Camp
as a senior in high school, and he held the scoring record in
McDonald's All-American Game for 18 years.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Two
down and one to go! That's where we stand with the publication yesterday of
our Final Ranking of the
Top 290 Recruiting Classes from the Conclusion of the Fall Signing Period
for the Class of 2010
and the publication today of our
Ranking of the Top Recruiting
Classes by Conference from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2010.
And
tomorrow we will totally wrap things up with the publication of our
Different Ways to Look at Recruiting Section,
which includes our ranking of the teams and
conferences with the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit, a list of
the teams that signed best two players and the best three players, and a
list of the teams that signed the best four players over a two-year period.
As for our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference
from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2010,
it's hard not to be impressed with the fact that the Atlantic Coast
Conference is the clear winner with 188 points, 35 recruits, and a 5.371
talent rating average per recruit. In other words, the ACC signed both
quality and quantity in this year's recruiting class, as the average player
signed by a school in this league is the equivalent of a player in the 40-70
range nationally. If you will recall, we rank each player on each team on a
1-10 scale based primarily on where he was ranked coming out of high school
or the equivalent of if he came out of junior college or was a 5th Year
Player. A top five-ranked player nationally is worth 10 points, a top
10-ranked player nationally is worth nine points, a player in the 11-40
range is worth eight points, a player in the 41-70 range is worth six
points, a player in the 71-100 range is worth four points, a player in the
101-300 range is worth three points, a player in the 301-1000 range is worth
two point, and any player not ranked among the top 1000 players
nationally is only worth one point. Experience at the college and
improvement are also factored in and, as a result, our system is applicable
not just to the top teams but to all teams on the Division I spectrum. And
just as important is the fact that once we've determined where a player is
ranked our system is no longer subjective. Unfortunately this is not the
case with most our of our competition. It also has stood the test of time.
And to put things into even better perspective with regards to just how
impressive this year's Atlantic Coast Conference recruiting class really is,
a quick look at our archives shows that only twice before during the last 12
years has a conference finished ranked #1 in our Ranking of the Top
Recruiting Classes by Conference and #1 when we look at what conference
had the Highest Talent Rating Average per Recruit during the Fall
Signing Period. So, while the latter is weighted more on quality, the
former rewards quantity, which means that the Atlantic Coast Conference has
been at a major disadvantage since the expansion of the Big East Conference
from 12 to 16 teams four years ago. We also are not surprised by the fact
that falling in right behind the six high major conferences (ACC, Big East,
SEC, Big-10, Big-12, and Pacific-10) in our
Ranking of the Top Recruiting
Classes by Conference from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2010
are the Atlantic-10 Conference and Conference USA, which are the next two
conferences on the Division I Spectrum, and the Mid-American Conference, Sun
Belt Conference, and the Colonial Athletic Association, which have finished
in the same range in recent years. However, we were very surprised by the
fact that the Southern Conference checks in at #10 in our
Ranking of the Top Recruiting
Classes by Conference from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2010.
But then again, Buzz Peterson is back at Appalachian State,
Charlton Young is rebuilding things at Georgia Southern, Mike Dement
continues to recruit well at UNC-Greensboro, Larry Hunter is
knocking on the door at Western Carolina, Bobby Cremins is getting it
done at the College of Charleston, and John Shulman is keeping his
share of players in his own backyard at home. We also are disappointed that
the surge in signings and commitments that we tracked last spring from
schools in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference appears to be the exception to the rule, instead of a trend. If
you will recall, the Southwestern Athletic Conference had 51 recruits and
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference had 30 recruits at the conclusion of last
year's Spring Signing Period. But this time around teams in the Mid-Eastern
Athletic Conference only have five recruits and the teams in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference only have two recruits in the fold.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
With
the publication of our
Ranking of the Top 450 Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Sophomores),
we are almost done updating all of our national rankings. If you will
recall, we published our
Ranking of the Top 750 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Seniors) on
November 1st, our
Ranking of the Top 600 Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Juniors)
on November 15th, our Ranking
of the Top 200 Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (Freshmen)
on October, 2nd, our
Ranking of the Top 150 Players Nationally in the Class of 2014 (8th Graders)
on October,
9th, our Ranking of the
Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2015 (7th Graders)
on October
16th, and our Ranking of
the Top 75 Players Nationally in the Class of 2016 (6th Graders)
on October, 23rd. That's 2,325 names of the top high
school players in the nation ranked in order by class and, as a result,
anybody who subscribers to the Members Section of the HOOP
SCOOP has the most in-depth and accurate reference source for player
rankings currently available. The only thing left to do now with regards to
updating our Top Players
Nationally by Class section is to publish our
Ranking
of the Top 5th Year Players, which we plan to do on a slow day next
week. And, as long as we're talking about our list of the top 5th Year
Players, now is a good time to make several important changes to two of the
above lists. The first involves 6'6 Will Barton from Wolfeboro
(Brewster Academy) NH, who was ranked #12 in our ranking of the top seniors
nationally, but will be our #1-ranked 5th Year Player due to the fact that
he reclassified when he transferred from Baltimore (City College) MD to Ft.
Washington (National Christian) MD in the fall of 2007. The second involves
5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX, who I
thought was a 5th Year Player and, as a result, he was left off our
Ranking of the Top 750 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Seniors).
But a quick check of our archives shows that Pressey was ranked #11 in our
Ranking of the Top 600 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010,
which was published on June 1, 2007, when he was a
freshman at Ashburnham (Cushing Academy) MA. So I have switched Pressey to
Barton's spot and Barton to Pressey's spot in our 5th Year and Senior
rankings. Third is to drop Pressey, who is now ranked #12 on our list of
the top seniors nationally, to #17 and move 6'10 Enes Kanter from
Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA from #17 to #12 on the same list. I also
am still trying to figure out what to do with 6'4 Shamar Bennett from
Creedmoor (Christian Faith) NC, who was left off our the list of the top
players in the Class of 2010 due to the fact that at the time I thought he
was a 5th Year Player. However, our Canadian Editor Ro Russell is
now telling me that
TheHoop-la.com
web site, which was our source of reference, was wrong when it listed
Bennett as a player in the Class of 2009. As for our
Ranking of the Top 450 Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Sophomores),
we
once again are really impressed with how much size there is in this class.
We're talking about the fact that 39 of our top 100 ranked sophomores are
6'7 or taller. This list includes 6'7 Soph Perry Ellis from Wichita
(Wichita Heights) KS, 6'7 Soph Winston Sheppard from Henderson
(Findlay Prep) NV, 6'11 Soph Andre Drummond from Oakdale (St. Thomas
More) CT, 6'11 Soph Isaiah Austin from Arlington (Grace Prep) TX, 6'9
Soph Dajuan Coleman from Dewitt (Jamesville-Dewitt) NY, 6'8 Soph
Wanna Bail from Houston (Lutheran North) TX, 6'7 Soph Amile Jefferson
from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'8 Soph Tony Parker from
Lithonia (Miller Grove) GA, 6'7 Soph Brandon Ashley from Oakland
(Bishop O'Dowd) CA, 6'7 Soph Willie Clayton from Thomasville (H.S.)
GA, 6'8 Soph Khem Birch from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'7 Soph Alex
Murphy from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, 6'8 Soph Elijah Macon
from Columbus (Marian-Franklin) OH, 6'10 Soph Ishmail Douda from
Miami (Choice Academy) FL, 6'11 Soph Robert Upshaw from Fresno
(Edison) CA, 6'8 Soph Jordan Hare from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'7
Soph Tymon Howard from Pearl (H.S.) MS, 6'10 Soph Joseph Uchebo
from Oak Ridge (Military) NC, 6'7 Soph Jarnell Stokes from Memphis
(Central) TN,6'10 Soph Will Cauley from Spearville (H.S.) KS, 6'8
Soph Devonta Pollard from DeKalb (Kemper County) MS, 6'7 Soph John
Crowder from Essex (Mount Carmel) MD, 6'8 Soph T.J. Bell from
Bloomington (South) IN, 6'9 Soph Daniel Ochefy from Westtown
(Friends) PA, 6'9 Soph Nerlens Noel from Everett (H.S.) MA, 6'9 Soph
Jamaree Strickland from Oakland (MClymonds) CA, 6'7 Soph Robert
Carter from Thomasville (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Soph Nick Baynard from
Arlington (Grace Prep) TX, 6'9 Soph Emmanuel Ochenje from Carbondale
(Brehm Prep) IL, 6'8 Soph Zach Peters from Plano (Prestonwood
Christian) TX, 6'8 Soph Gavin Ware from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'7
Soph Grant Jerrett from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'9 Soph Brandon
Bolden from Sumpter (H.S.) SC, 6'7 Soph Jalen Robinson from
Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'7 Soph Charles Mitchell from Marietta
(Wheeler) GA, 6'7 Soph Isaiah Miles from Ellicott City (Glenelg
Country School) MD, 6'10 Soph Aaron Hammons from Carmel (H.S.) IN,
6'8 Soph Jack Flourney from Mt. Hope (Oak Hill) WV, and 6'8 Soph
Matt Costello from Bay City (Western) MI. This means the sophomore
class is already ahead of the junior class, which has 37 players ranked
among the top 100 who are 6'7 or bigger, and right behind the senior class,
which has 42 players ranked among the top 100 who are 6'7 or bigger. And,
when we start looking at quality size, we find that the sophomore class has
already surpassed the junior class, which has six players ranked among the
top 100 who are 6'10 or bigger, and is already equal to the senior class,
which has seven players ranked among the top 100 who are 6'10 or bigger.
However, what really tells the story is the fact that the junior and the
senior classes have only two players ranked among the top 50 who are 6'10 or
taller, while the sophomore class already has six players ranked among the
top 50 who are 6'10 or taller. We also are struck by just how strong Texas
and Georgia are at the top of the class, as those two states account for
eight of the top 25-ranked sophomores nationally. And what about the fact
that the state of Nevada has two of the top four-ranked players on our
list? To find out where all of
these players are ranked now is the perfect time to
subscribe
to the Members
Section.
Friday,
November 20, 2009
I'm already planning my travel schedule for this winter and Eddie
Oliver's 2009-2010 High School Basketball Tournaments and
Events Report is
once again a big help when it comes to finding out the dates and what teams
and players are going to be at each event. But what really makes this the
"Bible of High School Tournaments and Events, is all the contact
information, complete with phone number, fax number, and email address of
each tournament director and, when it is available, a schedule of games and
some interesting comments about each event. Each copy of the College and
Professional Edition is bound and personalized, which more than makes it
worth it's $175 cover price. For more information, I encourage you to go to
hoopsusa.com,
where you can order online, or can order via check or
money order made payable to Eddie Oliver - Hoops USA,
P.O. Box 15403, Surfside Beach, SC, 29587. You
also can email questions to Oliver at
hoopsusa@sc.rr.com
and he even has a link on his web site
that you can click onto if you need an invoice for payment. The first event
that I am planning on covering this winter once again will be the
Marshall County HoopFest
in Benton, KY, which will be held on December 3rd-5th
and will feature Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA,
Arden (The Christ School) NC, Covington (Holmes) KY, Jackson (Callaway) MS,
Gary (Bowman) IN, Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, Lexington (Catholic) KY, Bowling
Green (Warren Central) KY, Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, Biloxi
(St. Patrick) MS, Paducah (Tilghman) KY, London (South Laurel) KY,
Hopkinsville (Christian County) KY, Belleville (Altholf Catholic) IL, Benton
(Marshall County) KY, Mayfield (Graves County) KY, Hazard (Perry County
Central) KY, Greenville (Muhlenberg Central) KY, and Metropolis (Massic
County) IL. I'm also very tempted to cover the National High
School Hoops Festival, which will feature
Upper Marlboro (Henry Wise) MD versus Fairfax (Paul VI) VA at Noon, Beckley
(Mountain State Academy) WV versus Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD at
2:00 PM, Leonardtown (St. Mary's Ryken) MD versus Rockville (Montrose
Christian) MD at 4:00 PM Charlotte (West Charlotte) NC versus Arlington
(Bishop O'Connell) MD at 6:00 PM, and Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD versus
Richmond (Benedictine) VA at 8:00 PM in Upper Marlboro, MD on December
12th. The first couple of days of the King of the Bluegrass
Holiday Classic, which will be held on
December 17th-22nd in Fairdale, KY and will include teams like Covington
(Holmes) KY, Memphis (Central) TN, Louisville (Eastern) KY, Winchester
(Clark County) KY, Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, Scottsdale (Chaparral)
AZ, Shelbyville (Shelby County) KY, Louisville, (Trinity) KY, Louisville
(Ballard) KY, and Fairdale) KY, is always a must stop. I also once again
plan to attend the City of Palms Classic,
which will be held at Bishop Verot High School in Ft. Myers, FL on December
18th-23rd, and the Beach Ball Classic,
which will he held in Myrtle Beach, SC on December 26th-31st. The field
for the former will include Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, Newark (St.
Benedict's) NJ, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, Alpharetta (Milton) GA,
Huntsville (Butler) AL, Montverde (Academy) FL, Chicago (De La Salle) IL,
Winter Park (H.S.) FL, Paterson (Catholic) NJ, Greensboro (Dudley) NC,
Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, Lansdowne (Penn Wood) PA, Bartow (H.S.) FL,
Weston (Sagemont) FL, Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, and Ft. Myers (Dunbar) FL and the
field for the latter includes Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, Marietta
(Wheeler) GA, Milwaukee (Hamilton) WI, Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, Georgetown
(Scott County) KY, Cleveland (St. Edward) OH, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV,
Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD, Greenville (J.L.
Mann) SC, Buffalo (Nichols) NY, Decatur (Columbia) GA, Concord (H.S.) NC,
Central (D.W. Daniel) SC, Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, and Myrtle Beach
(Socastee) SC. Another must stop is the Spalding Hoophall
Classic in Springfield, MA on January
15th-17th and the field is absolutely loaded, as the list of teams that will
be participating in this year's event includes Findlay (Henderson Prep) NV,
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Columbus (Northland) OH, Santa Ana (Mater Dei)
CA, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Newark (St.
Benedict) NJ, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, Washington (Gonzaga) DC, Jersey City
(St. Anthony NJ, Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, Philadelphia
(Neumann-Goretti) PA, Paterson (Catholic) NJ, New York (Rice) NY, Winter
Park (H.S.) FL, Covington (Kentwood) WA, Chicago (Simeon) IL, Kinston (H.S.)
NC, Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, Huntsville
(Columbia) AL, Warwick (Bishop Hendricken) RI, Springfield (Cathedral) MA,
Chicopee (H.S.) MA, Longmeadow (East Longmeadow) MA, Northampton (H.S.) MA,
Groton (Groton-Dunstable) MA, Springfield (High School of Commerce) MA,
Springfield (Science & Tech) MA, Holyoke (H.S.) MA, Cheshire (Hosoac Valley)
MA, Wilbraham (Minnechaug Regional) MA, New Britian (H.S.) CT, Palmer
(H.S.) MA, Quaboag (Regional) MA, Sabis (Sabis International Charter) MA,
South Hadley (H.S.) MA, Fiskdale (Tantasqua) MA, Westfield (H.S.) MA, and
Wareham (H.S.) MA. I also will expect to attend the Primetime
Shootout in
Morgantown, WV on January 22nd-23rd where I will see teams like Mouth of
Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, New York (Rice) NY,
Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, Columbia (H.S.) GA, Paterson
(Catholic) NJ, Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, Beckley
(Mountain State Academy) WV, Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, Chester (H.S.) PA,
Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, Baltimore (City College) MD,
Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, Pittsburgh (Mt. Lebanon) PA, Charleston
(South Charleston) WV, and Huntington (Academy) WV. I haven't decided
whether I will attend the National Prep Showcase Invitational
in Kinston, RI on February 4th-7th or
the NIKE Extravaganza
in Santa Ana, CA on February 5th-6th. But I do plan
on once again being at the Primetime Shootout
at Rutgers University on February 12th and in Trenton,
NJ on February 13th-14th.
Sunday,
November 15, 2009
A
quick check of our
Ranking of the Top 600 Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Juniors),
which was published earlier this evening exclusively in the Members
Section, shows that 23 of our top 100-ranked juniors have already
made early verbal commitments. This list includes 6'3 Jr Austin Rivers
from Winter Park (H.S.) FL to Florida, 6'8 Jr James McAdoo from
Norfolk (Christian) VA to North Carolina, 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from
Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ to Texas, 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from
Arlington (Grace Prep) TX to Texas A&M, 6'7 Jr Aaron Ross from Little
Rock (Parkview) AR to Arkansas, 6'5 Jr Samuel "P.J." Hairston from
Greensboro (Dudley) NC to North Carolina, 6'5 Jr Sheldon McClellan
from Houston (Bellaire) TX to Texas, 6'4 Jr Kevin Ware from Conyers
(Rockdale) GA to Tennessee, 6'10 Jr Michael Chandler from
Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN to Louisville, 6'1 Jr John Johnson
from Philadelphia (Girard College) PA to Pittsburgh, 6'5 Jr Brandon
Kearney from Detroit (Southeastern) MI to Michigan State, 6'2 Jr Matt
Carlino from Bloomington (South) IN to Indiana, 6'6 Jr Ryan Taylor
from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN to Louisville, 6'6 Jr DeAndre
Daniels from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA to Texas, 6'2 Jr Carlton
Brundidge from Southfield (H.S.) MI to Michigan, 6'4 Jr Julien Lewis
from Galveston (La Marque) TX to Texas, 6'10 Jr James "Zac" Price
from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH to Louisville, 6'4 Jr Achraf Yacoubou
from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY to Villanova, 6'2 Jr Gelaun
Wheelwright from Corona (Centennial) CA to USC, 6'5 Jr Elgin Cook
from Milwaukee (Hamilton) WI to Iowa State, 6'3 Jr John Issac from
Leesville (Pickering) LA to LSU, 6'1 Jr Tracey Abrams from Chicago
(Mt. Carmel) IL to Illinois, and 6'6 Jr Austin Etherington from
Arcadia (Hamilton Heights) IN to Indiana. Especially interesting is the
fact that 20 of those just mentioned 23 players live in the state or a
neighboring state to the school to which they verbally committed. And to
break this down even further 13 of the above mentioned players picked an
in-state school, seven picked a school in a neighboring state, and only
three picked a school that is not within driving distance of the school that
they decided to attend. We're talking about Kabongo, who is originally from
Canada, is now in New Jersey, and is heading to Texas; Daniels who is from
California, but also is heading to Texas; and Carlino, who now lives is
Indiana, but originally is from Phoenix, AZ. And we look for this to become
even more of a trend in the future due to the fact that the NCAA is in the
process of passing legislation that will prohibit camps and AAU-like
tournaments from being held on the campuses of NCAA Division I colleges and
universities. And this is important, because this has given certain schools
obvious recruiting advantages in the past. We also still think the Class of
2011 is the next great class for a number of reasons. First, there is a lot
of star power at the top, as is evident by the fact that great talents like
6'3 Jr Trevor Lacey from Huntsville (Butler) AL, 6'8 Jr Quincy
Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, 6'3 Jr Tony
Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, and 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from
Jackson (Murrah) MS are not ranked among the top five players in our
Ranking of the Top 600 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Juniors).
Second, the class has tremendous depth, as is evident by the fact that
players in the 40-60 range would be ranked in the 20-40 range if they were
in the previous three classes and there are about 130 players on this list
who we originally had slated to be ranked among the top 100 seniors
nationally. Third, there is excellent size in this class, as evident by the
fact that there are 29 players in this class who are 6'8 or bigger. That
list includes 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick)
NJ, 6'8 Jr James McAdoo from Norfolk (Christian) VA, 6'8 Jr Quincy
Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, 6'8 Jr
LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'10 Jr Rakeem Christmas
from Byrn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, 6'8 Jr Angelo Chol
from San Diego (Hoover) CA, 6'9 Jr Amir Williams from Beverly Hills
(Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'8 Jr Johnny O'Bryant from Cleveland (East
Side) MS, 6'10 Jr Michael Chandler from Indianapolis (Lawrence North)
IN, 6'9 Jr Norvel Pelle from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'8 Jr Nick
Jacobs from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'8 Jr Jakarr Simpson
from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH, 6'8 Jr Julian Royal from
Alpharetta (Milton) GA, 6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle)
IL, 6'9 Jr Tyler Adams from Brandon (H.S.) MS, 6'9 Jr Dejehi Baru
from Chester (Steward School) VA, 6'9 Jr Kyle Wiltjer from West Linn
(H.S.) OR, 6'8 Jr DeAndre Daniels from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'8
Jr Angel Nunez from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'8 Jr Mikael Hopkins
from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'10 Jr James "Zac" Price from
Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'8 Jr Kevin Thomas from Creedmoor
(Christian Faith Academy) NC, 6'10 Jr Hunter Mickelson from Jonesboro
(H.S.) AR, 6'8 Jr Percy Gibson from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'8 Jr
Braedon Anderson from Creedmoor (Christian Faith Academy) NC, 6'10 Jr
Chris Coleman from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'11 Jr Malcolm
Gilbert from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, 6'8 Jr Anton
Grady from Cleveland (Central Catholic) OH, and 6'8 Jr David Gardner
from Okolona (H.S.) MS. To
find out exactly where all of these players are ranked, we encourage you to
subscribe
to the Members
Section.
Monday, November 9,
2009
With
the publication of Allen Rubin's
Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report
last night exclusively in the Members Section, we're right on
schedule in terms of catching up all of our rankings. If you will recall,
we published our Ranking
of the Top 200 Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (Freshmen)
on October,
2nd, our Ranking of the
Top 150 Players Nationally in the Class of 2014 (8th Graders)
on October,
9th, our Ranking of the
Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2015 (7th Graders)
on October
16th, our Ranking of the
Top 75 Players Nationally in the Class of 2016 (6th Graders)
on October, 23rd, and
our Ranking of the Top
750 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Seniors)
on
November 1st and we plan to publish our Ranking of the Top
Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Juniors)
on November 15th (next Sunday) and our
Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2012
(Sophomores) on November 25th (the day before
Thanksgiving). We also plan to wrap-up recruiting from the Fall
Signing Period at end of the month and catch up on all of our
state-by-state and area reports during the winter. So obviously now
is the perfect time to
subscribe
to the Members
Section.
As for Rubin's report, it includes his ranking of the top 16 5th Year
Players, 410 Seniors, 298 Juniors, 186 Sophomores, 115 Freshmen, 33 8th
Graders, and 21 7th Graders. That's 1,079 names all ranked in order by
class, plus 10 all-area teams that include the top 50 players in his area
regardless of class and position. It also includes some of the biggest
stories and some interesting analysis about some of the top players and
teams in the area. But what is particularly intriguing is Rubin's list of
the top players in the history of the Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area. We're talking about which 7'1 Wilt
Chamberlain from Philadelphia (Overbrook) PA, 6'0 Guy Rodgers
from Philadelphia (Northeast) PA, 6'6 Tom Gola from Philadelphia (La
Salle) PA, 6'0 Hal Lear from Philadelphia (Overbrook) PA, 6'4
Ernie Beck from Philadelphia (West Catholic) PA, 6'8 Wayne Hightower
from Philadelphia (Overbrook) PA, 6'3 Earl Monroe from
Philadelphia (John Bartram) PA, 6'7 Eugene Banks from Philadelphia
(West Philadelphia) PA, 6'6 Lewis Lloyd from Philadelphia (Overbrook)
PA, 6'7 Billy Thompson from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'4 Milt Wagner
from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'2 Kevin Walls from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'1
Jerome "Pooh" Richardson from Philadelphia (Ben Franklin) PA, 6'3
Jeff Lebo from Carlisle (H.S.) PA, 6'8 Billy Owens from Carlisle
(H.S.) PA, 6'8 Donyell Marshall from Reading (H.S.) PA, 6'10
Rasheed Wallace from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'6 Kobe Bryant
from Ardmore (Lower Merion) PA, 6'6 Richard Hamilton from
Coatesville (H.S.) PA, 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman
Catholic) PA, 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'4 Wayne
Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Gerald
Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 6'5 Tyreke
Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA. And, if that weren't enough,
Rubin also has come up his a First Team All-Team Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area Team, which includes 7'1 Wilt Chamberlain
from Philadelphia (Overbrook) PA, 6'6 Kobe Bryant from Ardmore (Lower
Merion) PA, 6'10 Rasheed Wallace from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA,
6'0 Guy Rodgers from Philadelphia (Northeast) PA, and 6'2 Dajuan
Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ. Originally Rubin had 6'6 Tom Gola
from Philadelphia (La Salle) PA on this five-man team. But I convinced him
to change his mind after giving him several good reasons. First, I thought
it was important to put somebody from South Jersey on the list, if it was
close. Second, players are supposed to be bigger, stronger, faster, and
more athletic in the modern era and, as a result, I didn't want to have the
majority of the players on this team having played high school basketball
before anybody who is 50-year-old today was even born. Third, Wager had an
incredible high school career, which included scoring over 100 points in a
single game and setting the state's all-time scoring record with 3,451
points during his career. He also scored 50 or more points in nine games,
averaged 42.5 ppg his senior season, and led his team to the Group 3
State Championship and the New Jersey Tournament of Champions
when he was a junior. He also was the #1-ranked senior in the nation by the
HOOP SCOOP in 2001. Also noteworthy is the fact that Eugene Banks
in 1977, Billy Thompson in 1982, Jeff Lebo in 1985, Rasheed
Wallace in 1993, and Tyreke Evans in 2008 all received National
Player-of-the-Year honors. And just missing making this list was Billy
Owens in 1988, who finished ranked #3 in the senior class, behind
Alonzo Mourning and Shawn Kemp. And making the story even more
interesting is the fact that Owens led his high school team to four straight
state titles.
Monday, November 2, 2009
We
were planning on publishing a list that included only the top 500-ranked
seniors. But when the dust had cleared, we had close to 800 names
ranked in order and, as a result, decided to make it a
Ranking of the Top 750 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Seniors)
when we published this list last night exclusively in the Members
Section. And this did not include players like 5'8 Phil
Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX, 6'4 Christian
Kabonga from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'4 Lorenzo Brown from
Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Marquez "Luke"Cothron from Red
Springs (Flora MacDonald) NC, 6'4 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep)
CT, 6'1 Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, and 6'6 Joel Wright
from Brooklyn (Jefferson) NY, all of whom are 5th Year Players, but are good
enough to be ranked someplace among our top 100 high school seniors, if we
had included them on our list. Also missing from this list is 6'11
Jeremy Tyler from San Diego (H.S.) CA, who decided to forgo his senior
year of high school and will play professionally this year for Maccabi,
Haifa in the Israeli Premier League. We also think it's important to
point out that there still isn't a lot of difference among the top eight
players in the class. We're talking about 6'8 Jared Sullinger
from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.)
IA, 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'11
Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake
Clifton) MD, 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV,
and 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN. But we
still give the nod to Sullinger due to the fact that he's a good
old-fashioned skilled power forward who scores at will in the low post, owns
the boards, and almost always finds a way to beat you at crunch time.
In other words, we still rank players the old-fashioned way, whereby, you
have to earn it. Obviously this is in sharp contrast to a lot of our
competitors who rank players primarily based on size, athleticism, and
potential. However, I will stand by who we have ranked as our #1
player in the nation in recent years. If you will recall, our
#1-ranked player was 6'2 Avery Bradley from Henderson (Findlay) NV in
2009, 6'2 Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA in
2008, 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR in 2007, 7'0 Greg
Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN in 2006, 6'7 Martell
Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA in 2005, 611 Dwight Howard from
Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA in 2004, 6'7 LeBron James
from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH in 2003, 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson
(Oak Hill) VA in 2002, 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ in
2001, 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN in 2000, 6'7 Donnell
Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA in 1999, 6'8 Al Harrington
from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ in 1998, 6'8 Tracy McGrady from
Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC in 1997, 6'6 Kobe Bryant from Ardmore
(Lower Merion) PA in 1996, 6'10 Kevin Garnett from Chicago (Farragut)
IL in 1995, 6'5 Felip Lopez from New York (Rice) NY in 1994, 6'4
Randy Livingston from New Orleans (St. Augustine) LA in 1993, 6'4
Jason Kidd from Alameda (St. Joseph Notre Dame) CA in 1992, 6'9 Glenn
Robinson from Gary (Roosevelt) IN in 1991, 6'8 Ed O'Bannon from
Lakewood (Artesia) CA in 1990, 6'1 Kenny Anderson from Briarwood
(Archbishop Molloy) NY in 1989, 6'10 Alonzo Mourning from Chesapeake
(Indian River) VA in 1988, 6'6 Eric Manual from Macon (Southwest) GA
in 1987, 6'10 J.R. Reid from Virginia Beach (Kempersville) VA in
1986, 6'3 Jeff Lebo from Carlisle (H.S.) PA in 1985, and 6'10
Danny Manning from Lawrence (H.S.) KS in 1984. As things stand now
in the Class of 2010, only 25 of our top 100-ranked seniors are still
available. But there is still plenty of action that will take place
among the elite players in the class, as 6'8 Harrison Barnes from
Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest)
FL, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'2 Josh
Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'8 Josh Smith from
Covington (Kentwood) WA, 6'7 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half
Hollow Hills West) NY, 6'4 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill)
VA, 6'8 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, and 6'10 Enes
Kanter from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA are all still available.
In other words, nine of our top 17-ranked seniors are still on the board
and, as a result, our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the
Class of 2010 will be subject to major changes between now and when we
publish our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of
2010 late next spring. Editor's Note:
To get the complete list, as well as all of other rankings that we're in the
process of publishing both last month and this month, click onto
subscribe
and join the Members Section.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Over the years I've been one of the NCAA's biggest critics. But when it
comes to their proposed legislation to "clean up college basketball from
within," I am in total agreement. ESPN's Dana O'Neil addressed this
topic in an article that was published earlier today, which can be found by
clicking onto
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneal_dana&id=4601355.
Especially noteworthy are the
suggestions mentioned for the recruiting reform package, which also already
have received the endorsement of the conference commissioners and the
National Association of Basketball Coaches.
-
"Eliminating so-called package deals, making it nearly impossible for a
college program to hire any of the myriad of hangers-on associated with
prospective student-athletes."
-
"Disallowing college coaches to subscribe to receiving services run by
people associated with prospects. This would curtail services offered
by AAU programs (and others) that charge colleges to subscribe but
sometimes offer little to no information on the prospect."
-
"Preventing payment to nonprofit organizations benefiting summer-club
teams, prospects or people attached to prospects."
-
"Preventing coaches from hiring outsiders to work at their camps and
clinics."
The article also makes note of the fact that the board of directors has the
authority to enact some of the changes immediately, although most would go
in effect in May 2010. "As potentially ground-shaking as the rules are, the
punishments comes with equally share teeth," says ONeil. "Head or assistant
coaches could be suspended from participation from regular-season games as
well as the NCAA tournament, and the penalties would follow him to
subsequent jobs. Also, basketball players caught in the web could be
rendered permanently ineligible at a school found guilty of one of these
infractions." I also thought it was interesting that we were mentioned in a
favorable light under the heading Payments to recruiting services run by
people associated with prospects. "These aren't to be confused with the
legit services run by people like Dave Telep, Tom Konchalski,
and Clark Francis, who work independently of any team." I also think
Van Coleman, who publishes
Hoopmasters.com,
and Brick Oettinger, who is a columnist for the
Recruiters Handbook and
PrepStars.com
are two
of the best and most legit guys in the business and, as a result, should be
held in the same esteem. And, with the exception of Telep, who has only
been in the business a dozen years, Konchalski, Coleman, Oettinger, and
myself have really stood the test of time, as the four of us combined have
been in the business for well over a 100 years. Another thing that we all
have in common is the fact that none of us run events or have club teams,
which not only adds to our legitimacy, but also eliminates any conflict of
interest, which can be a big problem, if you're trying to evaluate and rank
the players who come to your event or play for you club team. It also will
be interesting to see which way a lot of the people who are doing both will
decide to go. And right at the top of the list is
Dave Telep,
who has a scouting service, is the National Recruiting Director for
Scout.com,
and is the guy who invites the players for the NBA Players
Association Top 100 Camp. Now
don't get me wrong. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Telep. He's
a first class person and is one of the hardest working guys in the
business. But anybody who is inviting the players to attend a camp is
"associated with prospects." So it's a legitimate question to ask whether
this applies to just AAU coaches and street agents or anybody the NCAA
thinks has any type of influence over prospects. And, if this just applies
to AAU coaches and street agents, they need to be more specific. Remember,
it's how something is actually written and, not how the people who wrote it
think it should be interrupted, that's going to win in court. And, if they
decide that this rule does apply to people who run events, where will they
draw the line? And will somebody like Telep fall into this category? And,
if he does, will they give him an exemption? And, if they do, who else will
get an exemption? All these are legitimate questions and I bet you that I'm
not the only one who is asking these types of questions.
Friday,
October 23, 2009
While
compiling our list of names that went into our
Ranking of the Top Players
Nationally in the Class of 2016 (6th Graders),
I had a very interesting conversation with one of the people who was
contributing names to our list. Without naming names, he told me that his
godson was one of the top players in this class, but got the shaft at the
Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA due to politics. Well, I looked
back at my notes and discovered that the player in question was on a team
that featured the best player in camp, the fourth best player in camp, and a
small quick point guard that I also thought was one of the better players in
camp. On the other hand, the player in question was ranked as the top
player in his age group at the Junior All-American Camp and several
other people have independently confirmed that this player is really good.
Thus, explains why he is ranked among the top 10 players on our list, but
not ranked ahead of the to best and the fourth best players at the Junior
Phenom Camp, who, by the way, also were two of the best players in the
6th Grade All-Star Game. And this is important for several reasons. First,
if you going to blame anybody for where a player is ranked at the Junior
Phenom Camp or, for that matter, any other camp or tournament that we
cover, blame me. Second, not only do I do my best not to play politics, but
at this age I don't even know who 99% of the players in this age group are
before I arrive at camp. Either you can play or you can't. Either you have
a good attitude or don't. Either you are a team player or you are not.
Either you are a great athlete or your are not. Either you have size for
position or you don't. I'm the first to admit that there is a great deal of
margin for error when watching players for the first time, especially when
they are so young,. But I will stand by my track record. Did you know that
our #2 and #3-ranked players in the 6th Grade age group five years ago at
the adidas Junior Phenom Camp were on the same team this past summer
at the LeBron James King City Classic in Cleveland, OH? We're
talking about 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL and 6'2
Jr Jamal Branch from Arlington (Grace Prep) TX, who are now two of
the top players in the junior class nationally. And 6'3 Jr Matt Carlino
from Bloomington (South) IN, who was the #1-ranked player at the camp five
years ago, turned out to be pretty good as well, as he already has made an
early verbal commitment to Indiana University and is a legitimate 50-100
range junior nationally. I also will never forget the 6th Grade All-Star
Game battle three years at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp between 5'11
Frosh Kasey Hill from Mount Dora (Bible) FL, who is now ranked #3
nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP and led his team
to a final four appearance this past summer at the AAU 14-Under Nationals,
and 5'11 Soph D.J. Griggs from Lake Jackson (Brazosport) TX, who was
a top five-ranked player in the Class of 2013, but has moved up a year into
the Class of 2012 and is still one of the better players nationally in his
class. And who about the battles between 5'9 7th Grader Allonzo Trier
from Federal Way, WA and 5'4 8th Grader Justin Jenifer from
Woodlawn, MD? If you will recall, a lot of people thought Jenifer was the
best 6th Grader in the country two years ago. But when the dust had cleared
two years ago the the adidas Junior Phenom Camp and a year ago at the
Junior All-American Camp, there was little doubt that Trier was the
better player. In other words, the head start and perspective that we get
by watching players this young can be invaluable in the future. However, I
also want to remind you that this is just the starting point. And for every
story like the ones mentioned above, I also can tell you one about how we're
surprised that this player or that player was a junior high school phenom,
but has sense fallen off the radar screen and not been heard from sense. So
I encourage everybody to take these rankings for what they are - a
reflection of what we know and have seen at a very early stage. And, if you
think we've missed the boat on somebody, I also encourage you to feel free
to send me your feedback to
hoopscooponline.com@msn.com. On
the other hand, also remember that too many parents overdo it, as they not
only create expectations that are impossible to live up to, but also put a
great big target on their kid's back. Moral to the story, sometimes it's
better to let the process to evolve and let people like us figure it out on
our own. Remember, at this age we've still got six years to get it right.
Editor's Note:
To get the complete list, as well as all of other rankings that we're in the
process of publishing both this month and next month, click onto
subscribe
and join the Members Section.
Friday, October 16, 2009
The
next event that I am planning on attending is the
2009 National Prep
Showcase, which will be held this year at Albertus Magnus College in
New Haven, CT on November 20th-22nd and will feature most of the top prep
schools in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic States. Things will tip-off
on Friday, November 20th, with Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT versus Lee
(Academy) ME at noon, followed by Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus Chatham (Hargrave
Military) VA at 1:45 PM, South Kent (Prep) CT versus Charlotte (Evelyn Mack
Academy) NC at 3:15 PM, Winchendon (School) MA versus Woodstock (Massanutten
Military Academy) VA at 5:00 PM, Andover (Proctor Academy) NH versus
Wilbraham (Wilbraham & Monson Academy) MA at 6:30 PM, and Northfield
(Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA versus Fork Union (Military) VA at 8:00 PM. On
Saturday, November 21st, things will tip-off at 9:00 AM with Lee (Academy)
ME versus Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) VA at 9:00 AM, followed
by Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT versus Fork Union (Military) VA at 10:45 PM,
North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME versus Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA
at 12:30 PM, Winchendon (School) MA versus Charlotte (Evelyn Mack Academy)
NC at 2:15 PM, New Hampton (Prep) NH versus Newark (Nia Prep) NJ at 4:00 PM,
Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) QU at 5:45
PM, Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH versus Worcester (Academy) MA at 7:30
PM, and Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME versus Saltsburg (Kiski
School) PA at 9:00 PM. Then, on Sunday, November 22nd, it will be Oakdale
(St. Thomas More) CT versus Newark (Nia Prep) NJ at 10:00 AM, North Bridgton
(Bridgton Academy) ME versus Tilton (School) NH at 11: 45 AM, Northfield
(Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA versus Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME at
1:30 PM, South Kent (Prep) CT versus Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) QU at
3:15 PM, New Hampton (Prep) NH versus Saltsburg (Kiski School) PA at 5:00
PM, and Barrington (St. Andrews) RI versus Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ at
6:30 PM. The list of top players who will be in attendance includes 6'6
Will Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'4 Lorenzo Brown
from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'8 Markus Kennedy from
Winchendon (School) MA, 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave
Military) VA, 6'5 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'9 Evan
Smotrycz from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'6 Joel Wright from South
Kent (Prep) CT, 6'4 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep) CT, 5'8
Darryl Traynham from Lee (Academy) ME, 6'1 Isaiah Epps from
Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'5 Gerard Coleman from Tilton
(School) NH, 6'8 C.J. Fair from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'2
Mardracus Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'3 Byron
Allen from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'1 Brady Heslip from
New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'7 Eric Ferguson from Winchendon (School) MA,
6'7 Max Esho from Lee (Academy) ME, 6'2 Dashaun Wiggins from
North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'3 Dominique Langston from
Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'2 Aishon White from Newark (Nia Prep)
NJ, 6'10 Maurice Walker from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7
Dartaye Ruffin from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'2 from Worcester
(Academy) MA, 6'6 Tyshawn Bell from Pittsfield (Maine Central
Institute) ME, 6'5 James Stukes from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6
Melvin Ejim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7 Majok Majok
from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, 6'11 Naofall Folahan from
Wilbraham (Wilbraham & Monson Academy) MA, 6'6 Ron Gilplay from
Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'2 Antonio Barton from Fitchburg (Notre
Dame) MA, 6'7 Hector Harold from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon)
MA, 6'5 Charles Standifer from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME,
6'1 Winston Graham from Lee (Academy) ME, 6'3 Kevin Amayo from
Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'0 Hakeem Harris from Blairstown (Blair
Academy) NJ, 6'7 Marvin Dominique from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'3
Austin Carroll from from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'0 Russ
Smith from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'2 Devon Saddler from
Winchendon (School) MA, 6'7 Cleveland Melvin from Fitchburg (Notre
Dame) MA, 5'10 Danny Lawhorn from South Kent (Prep) CT, 5'11 Akeem
Williams from Winchendon (School) MA, 5'11 Anthony Ireland from
Winchendon (School) MA, 6'3 Mike Buffalo from South Kent (Prep) CT,
6'2 Jordair Jett from from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'5
Jesse Pritchard from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'5 Laurent
Rivard from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, 6'4 Vevgeniy
Dyachenko from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'5 James
Frazier from Newark (Nia Prep) NJ, 6'5 Tyler McNeely from
Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 5'11 Jr Naadir Tharpe from Wolfeboro
(Brewster Academy) NH, 6'2 Jr Aaron Cosby from Northfield
(Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, 6'8 Jr Shaquille Thomas from Newark (Nia
Prep) NJ, 6'8 Jr Tyler Olander from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'8 Jr
Angel Nunez from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'3 Jr Mike Carter Williams
from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'11 Jr Vince Van Nes from
Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, 6'11 Jr Ryan Canty from Tilton
(School) NH, 6'0 Jr Jordan Laguerre from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'9
Soph Khem Birch from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'11 Soph Andre
Drummond from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'9 Soph Richard Peters
from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'9 Soph Al Azulphar from
Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and 6'4 Soph Ricardo Ledo from
Barrington (St. Andrews) RI.
Friday,
October 9, 2009
With
the publication of our
Ranking of the Top 150 Players in the Class of 2014 (8th Graders)
earlier today
exclusively in the Members Section, we're halfway home
updating our rankings of the top young players who are on the horizon. If
you will recall, a week ago we published our
Ranking of the Top 150 Players
in the Class of 2014 (8th Graders),
next week we plan to publish
our updated
Ranking of the Top Players in the
Class of 2015 (7th Graders),
and the following week we plan to publish to our updated
Ranking of the Top
Players in the Class of 2016 (6th Graders).
However, before I go any further, I want to point out that
these rankings are a reflection of what we
know at the current time. The younger you go the more margin for error
there is and there is a much greater chance that we will miss somebody we
have not to see play or who hasn't shown up yet on our radar screen. In
other words, ranking players this young is a great starting point, but it
usually doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. And this is
especially true with the Class of 2014 for several reasons. First, this
class appears to be slow developing, as the top players in the Class of 2014
are not nearly as advanced as the top players in the Class of 2013 were a
year ago. And to reinforce this point even further is our belief that a lot
of the top players (i.e. 5'9 7th Grader Allonzo Trier
from Federal Way, WA, 5'7 7th
Grader Perry Dozier
from Columbia, SC, 6'5 7th Grader Kewan Johnson
from Atlanta, GA, 6'1 7th Grader Austin Grandstaff
from Rowlett, TX, 5'10 7th Grader Malik Newman
from Jackson, MS, 6'2 7th Grader
Jesse Pictokache from
McAllen, TX, 5'8 7th Grader Malik Ellison
from Voorhees, NJ, 6'5 Mickey Mitchell
from Bryan, TX, and 5'11 7th Grader Tyler Dorsey
from Pasadena, CA) in the Class of 2015 are every bit as good as the top
players in the Class of 2014 are right now. The lone exception is 5'11 8th
Grader Joel Berry
from Casselberry, FL, who played up a year and was one of top five-ranked
players in the tournament on a team that advanced all the way to the final
four of the AAU 14-Under Nationals. We're talking about an
incredible athlete, tremendous competitor, prolific scorer, and great
3-point shooter who promises to be the next in a long line of great guards
(i.e. Darius Washington
in 2004, Nick Calathes
in 2007, Kenny Boynton
a year ago, Brandon Knight
this year, Austin
Rivers next year, and
Kasey Hill in the Class of
2013) from the Sunshine State. We also really like 6'3 8th Grader
Tony Upchurch from
Pearland, TX and 6'6 8th Grader Craig Victor
from New Orleans, LA. But neither player
has shown up at any of the events that I have covered in the last year and
there will be a day of reckoning, if they don't continue to grow. Second,
the race is really too close to call among a lot of the other top players in
the class, like 6'5 8th Grader Micah Seaborn
from Benbrook TX, 5'9 8th Grader James Blackmon
from Ft. Wayne, IN, 6'4 8th Grader Trevon Bluiett
from Indianapolis, IN, 6'2 8th Grader
John Jackson from
Tucson, AZ, 5'7 8th Grader Parker Cartwright
from Van Nuys, CA, 6'4 8th Grader
Joseph Burton from Houston, TX,
5'10 8th Grader TaRon Ayers
from Beckley, WV, 6'3 8th Grader Theo Pinson
from Greensboro, NC, and 5'9 8th Grader Anton Beard
from North Little Rock, AR. Third, there are still a lot of questions that
much be answered, like just how good is 6'6 8th Grader
Andrew Wiggins from Creedmoor,
NC? Our Canadian Editor Ro Russell,
who also is the director of the Grassroots Canada AAU program and the new
head coach at Creedmoor (Christian Faith School) NC, was right on the money
several years ago when he was touting 6'8 Tristan Thompson
from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV
and 6'1 Jr Myck Kabongo
from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ as two of the top young up-and-coming guys
before I'd ever heard of them, much less seen them play. So we have to pay
attention when he tells us that Wiggins is a good as any player he has had
at this stage. "I haven't seen a player at 13-years old any better, " says
Russell. "He is a super high major talent who played 15-Under, 16-Under,
and 17-Under for me this past year. Wiggins is a big time athlete and very
skilled for his age ŕ la Michael Gilchrist.
He's also the son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins."
Editor's Note: To find out
exactly where all of these players are ranked, now is the perfect time to
subscribe
to the Members Section.
Friday,
October 2, 2009
I've
had a number of people inquire recently about when we plan to update our
national player rankings. Well, our
Ranking of the Top 200 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2013 (Freshmen)
were published this evening exclusively in
the Members Section
and I'm already working on our updated
Ranking of the Top
Players in the Class of 2014 (8th Graders),
which we plan to publish
next week; our updated
Ranking of the Top
Players in the Class of 2015 (7th Graders),
which we plan to publish the following
week; and
Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2016 (6th Graders),
which we plan to publish in about three
weeks. I also am being told by Allen Rubin
that he plans to get me his updated
Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Report
by about the middle of the month, which
means I'll have a couple of weeks to turn it around and get it published by
the end of the month. I also plan to update our
Ranking of the Top
Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Seniors),
Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Juniors),
and
Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2012 (Sophomores)
periodically during
the month of November, which means we should be 100% caught up updating our
national player rankings right about the time the high school basketball
season is getting under way. As for our
Ranking of the Top 200 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2013 (Freshmen),
this is a phenomenal list for a number of reasons. First, I've been
tracking the players in this class for three-and-a-half years dating all the
way back to March 21, 2006 when he published our
Ranking of the Top 100 5th Graders in the
Nation.
Second, thanks to the fact that most of these players have participated in
the
AAU 14-Under Nationals
and/or attended the
Junior Phenom Camp
and/or the
Junior All-American Camp
in recent years, I have personally seen an overwhelming number of the
players on this list. As a matter of fact, the only three players who are
ranked among the top 25 players on this list that I have not seen are
6'7 Frosh Jordan Washington
from Queens (Pathways) NY, 6'5 Frosh
Peter Jok from
Des Moines (Roosevelt) IA, and 6'1 Frosh Duane Wilson
from Whitefish Bay (Dominican)
WI. Third, our area and state editors
have provided us with an incredible amount
of input, which means we're really up-to-date with regards to whether a
player has grown and where he is going to high school. I also think it's
important to put out why we have 6'5 Frosh Brian
Bridgewater from Baton Rouge
(Episcopal) LA
ranked #1 in the class. He may not grow a lot more and, as a result, may
not have as much upside and potential as some of the other players on this
list. But right now Bridgewater is like a man among boys and is just flat
out better than everybody else. Remember, our rankings take into account
upside and potential for both college and professional levels. However,
there also has to be an accountability right now. And, if what you see is
what you get, with normal development Bridgewater will be a heck of a power
forward in at the big time college level. And, if he grows three or four
more inches, he'll be able to follow in the footsteps of players like
Glen Davis,
Kevin Love, and
6'8 Jared Sullinger
from Columbus (Northland) OH, all of whom
were a force to be reckoned with inside, but didn't get the respect they
deserve due to the fact that the popular consensus was they are an inch or
two too small and/or not athletic enough to project as a superstar at the
highest level. But I don't want to be quoted saying that due to the fact
that I think it's way to early come to some kind of definitive conclusion.
Did you know that Davis, who is only 23-years-old and in only his second
season in the league, averaged 7.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg during the regular season
and 15.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg in the playoffs for the Boston Celtics? And Love,
who just turned 21 years old, averaged 11.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg in his first
season in the league while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. I also
can't say enough good things about 6'3 Frosh Nigel
Williams-Goss from Henderson
(Findlay Prep) NV, who led his team to the AAU 14-Under National
Championship and is one of the smartest and most consistent players to
come down the pike in a long time. And rounding on our top five are 5'11
Frosh Kasey Hill
Mount Dora (Bible) FL, 6'3 Frosh Julius Randle
from Plano (Prestonwood Academy) TX, and 6'4 Frosh Aaron
Harrison from Houston (Strake
Jesuit) TX.
For the rest of the list, as well as all of other rankings that will
be published during the course of the next two months, click onto
subscribe
and join the Members Section.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
It
looks like the University of Kentucky has finally gotten on the recruiting
board with today's verbal commitment by 6'5 Stacey Poole from
Jacksonville (Providence School) FL. If you will recall, the Wildcats are
involved with a number of the top high school players in the nation,
including 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2
Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'7 Tobias Harris
from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hill West) NY, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from Marietta
(Wheeler) GA, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'3
Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Adrian Payne
from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth
(St. Patrick) NJ, and 6'3 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike)
IN. But until today nobody had pulled the trigger for the Wildcats. Poole
is not ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, but our Florida Editor
Rick Staudt thinks he should be based on the fact that Poole has
gotten a lot better at creating his own shot and hitting the mid-range jump
shot. Poole also has big time athleticism and an excellent body, is very
adept at getting to the basket, and has a great bloodline, as is evident by
the fact that his father who goes by the same name was a top 25-ranked
senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in the great Class of 1988
and was the fourth leading scorer with 1,678 points in University of Florida
basketball history. The younger Poole also is capable of putting up
prolific numbers (he was the second leading scorer with 15.8 ppg at the
NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp). However, Poole still has a
tendency to be inconsistent, is more of a slasher than a shooter, and is
still really just learning how to play the game. And this is good news for
Wildcats head coach John Calipari, because it means that Poole will
likely be a three or four-year player for the Wildcats. We also are
impressed with the fact that Auburn has landed 5'11 Anthony Salters
from Iowa Western (JC) IA, who named Second-Team All-Region XI and averaged
15.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, and 1.6 spg this past season. But even more
impressive is the fact that Mike Mitchell, who is the editor and
publisher of the Midwest Scouting Service, ranks Salters as the top
point guard in the junior college ranks this year. Salters also has the
jet-like speed and quickness, ball handling and passing skills, good
mid-range game, and ability to create his own shot necessary to step in and
be one of the better point guards in the league next year. Salters also
should be an excellent complement to 6'6 Heath Houston from Powder
Springs (Hillsgrove) GA, 6'8 Adrian Forbes from Trinity Valley (JC)
TX, and 6'2 Jalen Steele from Knoxville (Fulton) TN in a recruiting
class that is now tied at #9, along with Oklahoma State, on our list of the
Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. Our
Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that 6'4 Austin Hollins
from Germantown (H.S.) TN has picked the University of Minnesota over
Memphis, Arkansas, and Oregon State. "Hollins belongs in the 100 to 150
range nationally," says Rothman. "He's got an excellent pull-up jumper, a
high basketball IQ, and his father (Lionel Hollins) is the head coach
of the Memphis Grizzlies." Rothman also thinks Clemson is currently the
leader over Memphis, Florida, and Vanderbilt for 6'5 Casey Prather
from Jackson (Northside) TN and Memphis is currently the leader over
Alabama, Miami-FL, and Oklahoma for 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis
(Ridgeway) TN. We also understand that 6'8 Jr Vinny Zollo from
Winchester (Clark County) KY has verbally committed to Notre Dame. Yes,
that's the same guy who originally verbally committed to the University of
Kentucky back when he was a freshman at Greenfield (McClain) OH. However,
after his family moved to Winchester, KY and he played his sophomore year at
Clark County High School, he re-opened his recruitment last spring after the
previous regime got fired. "A blue collar low post man who continues to
improve with each outing," says Rick Bolus in the High Potential
Basketball Recruiting Service. "Scores inside, rebounds and outlets to
start the break, but needs added foot speed and quicks to aid his defense."
Thus, explains why we have Zollo ranked no higher than #268 nationally in
the junior class. But Zollo did make an excellent choice this time around,
as Irish head coach Mike Brey is a master at getting the most out of
players who will benefit from structure and playing in his system. Our
Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin
tells us that 6'9 Jonathan Arledge from Washington (Kamit Institute
Magnificent Achievers) DC has picked George Mason over Providence,
Georgetown, and Temple. And Rubin thinks this is an excellent catch for the
Patriots despite the fact that Arledge is under most people's radar screen
nationally. "Arledge has good low post moves, is good on the boards, and
can step out and hit the 17-foot jumper," says Rubin. Rubin also confirms
that 6'8 Anthony Lee from Orlando (West Oaks) FL will be at Temple
this weekend on an official visit and that the Owls appear to be one of the
three finalists, along with Virginia Commonwealth and USC, for Lee's
services. Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio also checks in with
a final four, which includes Louisville, St. John's, Florida, and
Pittsburgh, for 6'6 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, who
combines big time athleticism with a deadly 3-point shot to be a legitimate
top 50-ranked senior nationally. The top five for 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston
from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY are St. John's Villanova, Tennessee,
Marquette, and Seton Hall. There also are two long shots remaining on
Pinkston's list and they are Arizona and Miami-FL. We also have confirmed
that 6'4 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has a pair of
visits already set up to the University of Oklahoma on October 2nd and
Kansas on October 16th and that schools like St. John's, Pittsburgh,
Louisville, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona, Connecticut, Syracuse, and
Seton Hall are also still in the hunt.
Friday,
September 18, 2009
One of
the things that I've been working on during the last week is Horace
Neysmith's updated
Georgia Report,
which was published
earlier today exclusively in the Members Section. And, if you don't
believe that the Peachtree State is per capita one of the most fertile
recruiting areas in the nation, just check out the list of great players
that the state has produced in the last 30-plus years. We're talking about
6'9 Derrick Favors
from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA in 2009; 6'9 Al-Farouq
Aminu from Marietta (Wheeler) GA,
6'8 Chris Singleton
from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, 6'8 Wesley Witherspoon
from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 6'7 Tony Mitchell
from Swainsboro (H.S.) GA, 6'6 DeQuan Jones
from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'10
Tony Woods from Rome (H.S.) GA,
and 6'8 Howard Thompkins
from Norcross (Wesleyan) GA in 2008; 6'9
James Hickson
from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'8 Gani Lawal
from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'4
Chris Allen from Lawrenceville (Meadowcreek)
GA, and 6'2 Senario Hillman
from Irwinton (Wilkinson County) GA in
2007; 6'6 Javaris Crittenton
from Atlanta (Southeast Atlanta Christian) GA and 6'4 Jodie
Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA in
2006; 6'2 Louis Williams
from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, 6'3 Lewis Clinch
from Cordale (Crisp County) GA, 6'7 Korvotney Barber
from Manchester (H.S.) GA, and 6'3
Michael Mercer
from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA in 2005; 6'11 Dwight
Howard from Atlanta (Southeast
Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'11 Randolph Morris
from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA,
6'9 Josh Smith from Marietta
(McEachern) GA, and 6'2 Toney Douglas from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA in
2004; 6'9 Brent Petway from Griffin (H.S.) GA, 6'3 Vincent Banks
from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'9 Jemario Davidson from Marietta
(Wheeler) GA, and 6'8 Alex Weeks from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA in 2003;
6'10 Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA and 6'8 Al
Thornton from Perry (H.S.) GA in 2002; 6'11 Kwame Brown from
Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA and 6'4 Anthony Rice from North Clayton
(College Park) GA in 2001, 6'4 A.J. Moye from Atlanta (Westlake) GA
in 2000; 6'6 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA in 1999;
6'4 Ronald Blackshear from Camilla (Mitchell Baker) GA and 6'0
Tony Atkins from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA in 1998; 6'4 Dion Glover
from Decatur (Cedar Grove) GA and 6'8 Jumaine Jones from Camilla
(Mitchell-Baker) GA in 1997; 6'9 Anthony Dent from Edison (Calhoun
County) GA and 6'11 Pablo Machado from Tifton (Tift County) GA in
1996; 6'9 Shareef Abdur-Rahim from Marietta (H.S.) GA, 6'3
Vonteego Cummings from Thomson (H.S.) GA, and 6'2 Ricky Moore
from Augusta (Westside) GA in 1995; 6'2 Michael Spruell from Albany (H.S.)
GA in 1994; 6'8 Dontonio Wingfield from Albany (Westover) GA in 1993;
6'9 Carlos Strong from Athens (Cedar Shoals) GA and 6'1 Octavious
Thomas from Atlanta (George) GA in 1992; 6'7 James Forrest from
Atlanta (Southside) GA, 6'10 Sharone Wright from Macon (Southwest)
GA, and 6'8 Al Pinkins from Camilla (Mitchell-Baker) GA in 1991; 6'6
Darrin Hancock from Griffin (H.S.) GA and 6'7 Greg Minor from
Saundersville (Washington County) GA in 1990; 6'9 Wayne Buckingham
from Atlanta (Southside) GA in 1989; 6'9 Stanley Williams from Alma
(Bacon County) GA in 1988; 6'6 Eric Manual from Macon (Southwest) GA
in 1987; 6'4 Brian Oliver from Smyrna (Willis) GA and 6'6 Derrick
Miller from Savannah (Bible Baptist) GA in 1986; 6'9 Pervis Ellison
from Savannah (H.S.) GA in 1985; 6'9 Cedric Henderson from Marietta
(Wheeler) GA and 6'9 Cedric Jenkins from Dawson (Terrell County) GA
in 1984; 6'2 Gerald White from Augusta (Richmond) GA in 1983, 6'8
Kenny Walker from Roberta (Crawford County) GA in 1982; 6'7 Richard
Corhen from Albany (Dougherty) GA in 1981; 6'6 James Banks from
Atlanta (Smith) GA in 1980; 6'7 Dale Ellis from Marietta (H.S.) GA,
6'7 Terry Fair from Macon (Southwest) GA, and 6'4 Michael Hunt
from Macon (Southwest) GA in 1979; 6'5 Derek Smith from Hogansville (H.S.)
GA and 6'7 Wylie Brown from Sylvester (Worth County) GA in 1978; 6'6
Al Wood from Gray (Jones County) GA in 1977; et al. I also think
it's important to point out that any way you slice it the top seven seniors
in the state are 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'0
Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'4 Jordan McRae from
Hinesville (Liberty County) GA, 6'2 Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern)
GA, 6'4 Rion Brown from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA, 6'4 Jeremy
Lamb from Norcross (H.S.) GA, and 5'8 Phil Taylor from Marietta
(Wheeler) GA. However, Neysmith and yours truly (HOOP SCOOP Editor &
Publisher Clark Francis) disagree somewhat on the order, as the seven
players listed above are the way Neysmith ranks them in the
Georgia Report.
In contrast, Harrow is #14, Kendrick is ranked #29, McRae is ranked #31,
Lamb is ranked #42, Golden is ranked #45, Brown is ranked #68, and Taylor is
ranked #98 in our
Ranking of the Top 100 Players Nationally in
the Class of 2010,
which was published on Thursday, July 30th. In other words, I'm not buying
the fact that Kendrick is a top 10-ranked player in the nation, which is
where Rivals.com has him ranked. Kendrick is a phenomenal athlete
and a big time talent. But he was clearly the third or fourth best player
on the Memphis Magic team, which won the adidas Super 64 in Las
Vegas, NV and also featured 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White
Station) TN,
6'6 Jr Adonis
Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'9 Tarik Black from Memphis
(Ridgeway) TN, 6'8 Jalen Kendrick from College Park (Westlake) TN,
and 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN. Kendrick, who is
really like a point/forward, also needs to become a little more consistent
and doesn't do anything great besides be athletic. Instead, my choice as
the #1-ranked senior in the state is 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta
(Walton) GA, who not only was the best player this past summer on the
Atlanta Celtics, but also did a great job of making things happen and
creating for 6'4 Jordan McRae from Hinesville (Liberty (County) GA
and 6'2 Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA. It also is
important to point out that Neysmith has confirmed that 6'8 Soph Tony
Parker, who is the #1-ranked sophomore in the state, is still at
Lithonia (Miller Grove) GA. If you will recall, it has been reported by a
lot of our competition that Parker transferred to Rockville (Montrose
Christian) MD. Another place where we need to correct the record is with
regards to 6'8 Soph William "Shaquille" Goodwin from Decatur
(Southwest Dekalb) GA, who is ranked #3 in the state's sophomore class in
the Georgia Report.
If you will recall, we had 6'8 Frosh William Goodman from Decatur
(Southwest DeKalb) GA ranked #16 based on his performance a month ago at the
AAU 14-Under Nationals. Well, it appears that this is the same guy,
as we had the name misspelled and he was playing down a year due to the fact
that he is young for his class. However, regardless of the details, we're
talking about a physical specimen and a monster inside, as well as possibly
the best prospect in the state regardless of class, according to Neysmith.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin
tells us that 5'10 Rakeem Brookins from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic)
PA has picked Tulane over Niagara and Boston University, 6'8 Shaquille
Duncan from Philadelphia (Frankford) PA has verbally committed to
Niagara, and 6'8 Anthony Mayo from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA
has become the second player in this year's recruiting class to pick Boston
University. The first was 6'1 Mike Terry from Philadelphia (North
Catholic) PA and, as a result, it is obvious that the new regime is taking
advantage of its strong connections in the City of Brotherly Love to rebuild
the program. If you will recall, new Terriers head coach Pat Chambers
had a successful playing career at Philadelphia University and was one
the architects behind the success that the Wildcats had during his five
years as an assistant coach at Villanova and Terriers assistant coach
Brian Daly played at St. Joseph's University and spent the last four
years as the head basketball coach at Drexel Hill (Monsignor Bonner) PA.
"Mayo is good in the low post, scores around the basket, and is good on the
boards," says Rubin. Duncan is ranked #279 nationally in the senior class
by the HOOP SCOOP. But even more important is the fact that Duncan
is an athletic power forward who can score from 12-feet and in, is a good
rebounder and shot blocker, and does a great job of getting up and down the
court, which makes him ideally suited to fit into Niagara's system.
Brookins is an excellent defender and a great 3-pointer who makes more than
his share of shots at crunch time. However, anybody who thinks that
Brookins will be the heir apparent to 5'10 Sr Kevin Sims, who was
Tulane's leading scorer and passer a year ago with 13.0 ppg and 4.0 apg, at
point guard is sadly mistaken. Brookins is a 2-guard all the way! And a
very talented one at that, as he's a legitimate top 150-ranked senior
nationally. Instead, we think Brookins will be a valuable complement to
5'11 Jordan Callahan from New Hampton (Prep) NH and 6'5 Jr Aaron
Holmes from Santa Fe (JC) FL, both of whom are expected to step in and
start right away this season for the Green Wave. Rubin also tells us the
next shoe that he expects to drop in his area will be an early verbal
commitment by 6'1 Jr John Johnson from Philadelphia (Girard College)
PA to the University of Pittsburgh. "Johnson can put the ball on the floor,
get to the basket, dish and finish, and shoot the three," says Rubin. "He
also is a tremendous competitor, a winner, and is capable of playing either
guard spot, which will make him the perfect complement to Isaiah Epps,
who also is capable of playing both the one and the 2-spots." We also have
gotten word from Pat Stevens, who is the Editor & Publisher of the
National Recruiting Wrap and has covered high school basketball
and recruiting for Hoopmasters.com and CSTV, about Chris
Chaney, who has had a very successful head coaching career with previous
stops at Kensington (Newport Prep) MD, Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and Lenoir
(Patterson) NC, not showing up at Durham (Prep) CT after all. "Instead,
Chaney plans to take a year off, " says Stevens. And neither is 6'9
Marquez "Luke" Cothran, who has now decided to return to Red Springs
(Flora McDonald Academy) NC. Stevens also tells us that 6'7 Tony Snell,
who last year attend Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, but now is at
Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ, has made a verbal commitment to the University
of New Mexico. Snell also one of the many players that Stevens has added to
his list of the top players who have surfaced at all of the top prep schools
this fall and all of the players who have transferred from one school to
another since the end of the school year last spring. Both of these lists
can be found at
patstevensbasketball.com
and some of the most interesting things
that weren't on his originally list, which was published with his permission
right in the the Members Section on Thursday, August, 20th, or that we
previously have not mentioned, include 6'4 Jesse Morgan from
Philadelphia (Olney) PA enrolling for a 5th Year at South Kent (Prep) CT,
6'1 Brady Heslip from Toronto, ON attending New Hampton (Prep) NH,
5'8 Daryl Traynham transferring from Upper Marlboro (Wise) MD to Lee
(Academy) ME, 6'2 Dashaun Wiggins transferring from Bronx (Wings
Academy) NY to North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'0 Antonio Burton
transferring from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD to Fitchburg (Notre Dame)
MA, 6'3 Byron Allen transferring from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA
to Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'2 Soph Clyde Smith transferring
from Houston (Cypress Creek) to Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, 6'8 Jr
Shaquille Thomas transferring from Beckley (Mountain State University
Academy) WV to Newark (NIA Prep) NJ, 6'10 Waverly Austin transferring
from Irving (God's Academy) TX to Martinsville (Heat Academy) VA, 6'6
Michael Haynes transferring from Chicago (Washington) IL to Martinsville
(Heat Academy) VA, 6'11 Jr Joey DeLaRosa transferring from Bronx (St.
Raymond's) NY to Las Vegas (Impact Academy) NV, 6'5 Jr Jose Rodriguez
transferring from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY to Las Vegas (Impact Academy) NV,
6'10 Jr Chris Coleman transferring from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian)
NV to Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'10 Jr Kevin Johnson transferring
from Gardena (Serra) CA to Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, and 6'9 Jr Norvel
Pelle transferring from Compton (Dominguez) CA to Los Angeles (Price)
CA.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
I hate to tell you that I told you so, but it looks like we were right on
the money a week ago when we told you that the University of Oklahoma had
come out of nowhere and now was a serious player in the hunt for 6'8 Josh
Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, who currently is ranked #11
nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and for the better
part of the last year has been believed to have been a near lock for UCLA.
And, if you still don't believe it, just check out what Seattle-Times
staff reporter Bob Condotta wrote on his blog this morning. "Some
interesting news about the recruitment of Kentwood center Josh Smith
breaking this morning as Dave Mahler at KJR-AM is reporting that
Oklahoma is now a contender for his services along with UCLA and UW. Mahler
said that Sooners coach Jeff Capel is apparently due in for
a visit this weekend. There are reports that UCLA coach Ben Howland
was in town for a visit in the last few days and that UW coach
Lorenzo Romar will also make a visit this weekend. With the early
signing day now just two months it's beginning to hit a critical time in the
recruitment for Smith, generally regarded as not only the top prospect in
the state for the Class of 2010, but among the best big men in the nation.
It had long been regarded as a two-team race for Smith between UW and UCLA
and he is reported to be visiting UCLA the weekend of October 3rd-4th. The
apparent addition of Oklahoma to the mix obviously muddies the waters a bit
and means there may not be quite as quick a resolution to his situation as
was once thought." And this isn't the first time that UCLA fans have
claimed that we were totally out to lunch, but ended up later having to eat
their own words. If you will recall, two years ago the popular consensus
was that 6'2 Jermine Anderson from Anaheim (Canyon) CA was better
than 6'4 Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA. However, we had
Lee ranked #8 and Anderson ranked #100 in our
Final Ranking of the Top 1000 Players in the Class of
2008
and we even went so far as to point out on July 31, 2007 that
"Anderson was not somebody who you pick out
and say is a top 20 or 30 player nationally, which is where a lot of
competitors have him ranked. So obviously I'm still not buying all the hype
about how good Anderson is and, as a result, he will remain in the 100-150
range (currently we have Anderson ranked #136 nationally in the senior
class) the next time we update our ranking of the top players in the Class
of 2008." As things stand now Lee, who averaged 3.2 ppg and 1.5 apg and was
slowed a year ago by injuries, is expected to step up and fill the void in
the backcourt created by the graduation of Darren Collison and
Josh Shipp and the early entry of Jrue Holiday into the NBA Draft
last spring. Anderson is the only pure point guard in the program, but,
after getting only 8.6 minutes of playing time per game and averaging 2.3
ppg and 1.2 apg a year ago, it will be interesting to see if he's good
enough to step up and be the starting point guard this season. We also were
a lot closer to being on the money with regards to 6'8 James Keefe
from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA in the spring of 2006. The
day after the McDonald's All-American Team was announced I made it a
point to question whether Keefe should be in the game. "I
really like Keefe's skills and blue collar work ethic around the basket, but
he really struggled most of the spring and summer and, as a result, wouldn't
even be ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, if he hadn't redeemed
himself at the Reebok Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV. However,
this is probably explained by the fact that Keefe is white (a lot of people
in our business have tendency to overrate white big men) and is heading to
UCLA (history says if you sign with certain elite schools, it seems to
enhance your chances of making the game)." Keefe has proved to be a
valuable role player the last three years for the Bruins, but averaged only
3.0 ppg and 3.7 rpg and his playing time dwindled as the season wore on a
year ago. We also were way ahead of everybody on Arron
Afflalo, who we first saw at the
Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic in Lynwood, CA in the fall of
2002. And on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 we wrote the following: "After
watching Afflalo score 37 and 31 points in his last two games at the
Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic, I'm convinced that he is the second
best player in the junior class in California behind 6'2 Jr DeMarcus
Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA and the third best junior on the West
Coast behind Nelson and 6'8 Jr Marvin Williams from
Bremerton (H.S.) WA. Afflalo handles and passes well enough to play point
guard at 6'4, but he also shoots it well enough and gets the hole well
enough to play the 2-guard spot. Add the fact that Afflalo has a 3.4 gpa,
is a great kid, and has a tremendous work ethic and there is no doubt that
he's going to be able to write his own ticket. Already in the hunt are
schools like USC, Kansas, Arizona, Syracuse, and Louisville, but we're sure
this list will get longer before it gets shorter." This also was where we
first saw 6'7 Dorell Wright from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA. If you
will recall, we said at the time that "Wright is a wiry thin
multi-dimensional athlete who needs to get bigger and stronger and finish
better. However, in some ways he reminds us of a poor man's Tracy
McGrady. Not only does he have excellent ball handling and passing
skills, but he has a knack for beating his man off the dribble and finding
ways to score. His outside shot is a lot better than we originally thought,
but he also can beat you from mid-range with his soft touch and going to the
basket with his moves, quickness, and athleticism." Wright didn't really
explode onto the national scene until the next spring and, after a year in
prep school, he did end up being the 19th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the
Miami Heat and has played in 139 games and started in 55 games for the Heat
during the last five seasons. And this important, because, while we were
talking about the greatness of players like Afflalo, Wright, and 6'2
Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, some of our competition
touting 6'3 Quentin Thomas from Oakland (Tech) CA as the best point
and 6'7 Lee Cummard from Mesa (H.S.) CA as the best 2-guard on the
West Coast. And we won't even start the debate again about 6'2 Brandon
Jennings, who we had ranked #1 nationally in his class for his last
two-and-a-half years in high school. But we will point out how far off most
of the scouting services on the West Coast are with regards to 6'2 Gary
Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA. Franklin is not a point guard,
but he is one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, his team usually
wins, and he has a tremendous work ethic. He also has the talent and
athleticism necessary to be ranked among the top 25 seniors nationally and,
as a result, he'll get my vote for the McDonald's All-American Game.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Does
two plus two equal four? Well, if it does, then we may have to give
credence to what we're hearing about 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington
(Kentwood) WA, who currently is ranked #11 nationally in the senior class by
the HOOP SCOOP and for the better part of the last year has been
believed to have been a near lock for UCLA. The word we're getting is that
Smith actually had gone so far as to give the Bruins a silent verbal
commitment, but now has changed his mind and is heavily leaning towards
going to the University of Oklahoma. And to add even more validity to this
story is the fact that Smith has cancelled his scheduled visit to UCLA this
weekend and it has not been rescheduled. However, the only time we've heard
the Sooners mentioned in connection with Smith was when he told us on May
1st that the three schools recruiting him the hardest are UCLA, Washington,
and Louisville, but added that he is still wide open and said that everybody
in the Pac-10 is still in the hunt, along with schools like Gonzaga, Texas,
Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Miami-FL, Duke, North Carolina, Georgetown,
Syracuse, Seton Hall, Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, and Kansas. So it
appears that the Sooners' coaching staff had been on the peripheral all the
time, but now have used the fact that Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel
is one of the hottest guys in college basketball and has a great track
record of developing big men (i.e. Blake Griffin was the consensus
#1-ranked player in the nation last season and the #1-pick in the NBA Draft
this past spring) to suddenly become a major player in the race for this 6'8
physical specimen who, just like Griffin, is a beast around the basket. We
also continue to hear that the Sooners are the school that you have to beat
for 6'5 Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, they are one of the
early favorites for 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, and
they are the only school that currently has an official visit set up with
6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, who
used to live in Houston, TX when his father was the head coach at the
University of Houston and in Norman, OK when his father was an assistant
coach at the University of Oklahoma. And making the story even more
interesting is the fact that current Oklahoma star 2-guard Warren Warren
was a near lock to go to the University of Arkansas until Stan Heath
got fired two-and-a-half years ago. The one common denominator in all of
this is University of Oklahoma assistant coach Orande Talieferro, who
not only is firmly establishing himself as one of the best recruiters in the
nation, but also might be as good as anybody there is right now recruiting
in the Lone Star State. Another school that does a great job of recruiting
in the Lone Star State, as well as nationally is Baylor, which now appears
to be the sleeper in the race for 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake
Clifton) MD, who is ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP
SCOOP. Baylor will have to be schools like Kentucky, Connecticut,
Oregon, and Kansas for Selby's services. But, if the Bears are able to pull
this one off, then it would more than make up for the fact that they missed
out on 6'3 John Wall from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who was the
#1-ranked 5th Year Player in the nation a year ago and picked the University
of Kentucky last spring. If you will recall, the Bears already have 6'8
Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #6 nationally in
the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'3 Bakari Turner from
Duncanville (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #99 nationally in the senior class by
the HOOP SCOOP, both in the fold. It also looks like this will be a
big recruiting weekend for USC, which will have 5'10 Andre Stringer
from Jackson (Forest Hill) MS, 6'5 Kyle Collinsworth from Provo (H.S.)
UT, 6'9 Curtis Washington from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY, 6'7 Josh
Huestis from Great Falls (C.M. Russell) MT on campus when the Trojans
play their first football game of the season against San Jose State, and
Louisville, which will have 6'8 Rodney Odom from Concord (Middlesex)
MA, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'8
Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, 6'2 Jr Macari Brooks
from Richton Park (Rich South) IL, and 6'10 Jr James "Zac" Price from
Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH on campus when the Cardinals play their first
football game of the season against Indiana State. It also is being
reported that 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL
has set up visits to Kentucky on September 19th and Kansas on October 16th;
6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ has set up visits to
Duke on September 26th and Indiana on October 3rd; 6'6 Anthony Brown
from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA has set up visits to UCLA on September
5th, California on September 12th, Arizona on September 19th, and Stanford
on September 26th; 5'11 Trevor Releford from Shawnee Mission (Bishop
Miege) KS has set up visits to Oklahoma on September 12th and Alabama on
September 19th; 6'4 Moses Morgan from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) NV has
set up visits to Indiana on October 12th and October 17th; 6'5 Casey
Prather from Jackson (Northside) TN has set up visits to Clemson on
September 5th, Michigan on September 12th, and Florida on September 19th;
6'4 Jerian Grant from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD has set up a visit to
Notre Dame on September 5th, Virginia on September 12th, and DePaul on
September 19th; 6'2 Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA
has set up visits to Tennessee on September 12th, Virginia on September
19th, and South Florida on October 17th; 6'5 Ralston Turner from
Muscle Shoals (H.S.) AL has a visit set up to Notre Dame on September 5th;
6'11 Alex Kirk from Los Alamos (H.S.) NM has a visit set up to New
Mexico on September 12th; 6'2 Ricky Scott from Irving (MacArthur) TX
has a visit set up to Arkansas on September 12th; 6'6 J.J. Moore from
South Kent (Prep) CT has a visit set up to Louisville on October 2nd; and
6'4 Doran Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has a visit set up
to Kansas on October 16th.
Monday,
August 31, 2009
I
spent most of the weekend working on our
Ranking of the Top 30
Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season.
And,
after going to each team's web site and getting important data (i.e. an
accurate roster for each team, the number of returning starters, and last
year's conference and over records), there is no doubt that there are two
teams that stand above all the rest. We're talking about Kansas, which
returns its top nine players from a Sweet 16 team, and Texas, which is
loaded at every position, thanks to the infusion of two excellent point
guards (J'Covan Brown and Jai Lucas) and the best high school
player in the nation (Avery Bradley) at the two-guard spot. Also
illustrating our point is the fact that Kansas checks in at #2 and Texas
checks in at #4 when we put together a talent rating for each of the 30
teams that are ranked on our pre-season list. If you will recall, our
talent ratings factor in things like depth experience, and improvement, but
are based primarily on where each player was ranked on a 1-10 scale when he
came out of high school. Junior college and prep school players are
factored in accordingly and a top five-ranked high school player is worth 10
points, a top 10-ranked high school players is worth nine points, a player
in the 11-40 range is worth eight points, a player in the 41-70 range is
worth six points, a player in the 71-100 range is worth four points, a
player in the 101-300 range is worth three points, a player in the 301-1000
range is worth two points, and anybody who is not the equivalent of a top
1000-ranked player is worth only one point. And it shouldn't come as much
of a surprise that Duke checks in with the highest talent rating. Remember,
the Blue Devils have six McDonald's All-Americans (Kyle Singler,
Nolan Smith, Jonathan Scheyer, Lance Thomas, Ryan
Kelly, and Mason Plumlee), another player who would have been a
McDonald's All-American (Andre Dawkins), if he hadn't have
graduated from high school early, and three other players who were ranked
among everybody's top 100 nationally (Brian Zoubeck, Olek Czyz,
and Miles Plumlee). So, while depth in the backcourt, overall team
speed and quickness, and a killer mentality are legitimate questions marks,
Mike Krzyzewski's coaching and an incredible amount of talent are
good enough to get the Blue Devils ranked among the top 10 in our
Ranking of the Top 30
Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season.
As a matter of fact, eight of our top 10-ranked pre-season teams are also
ranked among the top 10 in talent on the following list: 1)
Duke with a
88.8 talent rating, 2) Kansas
with a 85.6 talent rating,
3) Villanova
with a 80.8 talent rating,
4) Texas
with a 77.2 talent rating,
5) North Carolina
with a 76.8 talent rating, 6) Mississippi
State
with a 76.1 talent rating,
7) Michigan State
with a 75.7 talent rating, 8) Kentucky
with a 75.4 talent rating,
9) Florida
with a 74.5 talent rating,
10) Tennessee
with a 71.6 talent rating,
11) Louisville
with a 70.6 talent rating, 12) Seton Hall
with a 67.7 talent rating, 13) Connecticut
with a 66.6 talent rating,
14) Memphis with a
63.7 talent rating, 15) Florida State
with a 63.2 talent rating, 16) Washington
with a 60.7 talent rating,
17) California
with a 59.6 talent rating, 18) Ohio State
with a 59.0 talent rating, 19) Georgetown
with a 58.8 talent rating,
20) Georgia Tech
with a 57.9 talent rating, 21) West Virginia
with a 57.7 talent rating,
22) Cincinnati
with a 55.1 talent rating, 23) Purdue
with a 54.6 talent rating,
24) Minnesota
with a 54.1 talent rating,
25) Texas A&M with
a 53.8 talent rating, 26) Michigan
with a 49.8 talent rating, 27) Binghamton
with a 45.3 talent rating,
28) Western Kentucky
with 39.1 talent rating,
29) Butler with a 35.5 talent rating,
and 30) Siena
with a 34.4 talent rating. The two teams
that are not ranked among the top 10 in talent, but are legitimate
pre-season top 10-ranked teams are Purdue, which has six players back who
have started an average of 26 games per year each of the last two years, and
Connecticut, which has a terrific nucleus (Kemba Walker, Jerome
Dyson, and Stanley Robinson) around which to build. We also
think is important to point out that a year ago the five highest ranked
teams based on talent were 1) North Carolina, 2) Louisville, 3) Duke, 4)
Oklahoma, and 5) Michigan State. And we probably wouldn't have had Michigan
State ranked higher than anybody else in last year's pre-season poll if it
weren't for our talent ratings. As a matter of fact, a quick look at last
year's
Pre-Season College Basketball Ranking Comparison,
shows that we were the only one that
had three of the four NCAA Final Four teams picked correctly prior to the
start of last season. We also were right on the money with Louisville,
which was the #1-seeded team in the tournament prior to the start of the
tournament, and Pittsburgh and Oklahoma, which finished ranked #6 and #7 in
last year's final ESPN/USA Today Poll. Getting back to this year's
Ranking of the Top 30
Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season,
we find that the Big-12 has the #1 and #2-ranked teams in Kansas and Texas
and the Big-10 has the #3 and #4-ranked teams with Michigan State and
Purdue. However, when we dig a little deeper we find that the Big East
Conference has seven teams (Villanova #6, Connecticut #8, Louisville #13,
West Virginia #14, Seton Hall #20, Cincinnati at #26, and Georgetown at #29)
ranked among our pre-season top 30 teams. And the most improved conference
appears to be the Southeastern Conference, which has four teams (Mississippi
State at #5, Florida at #7, Kentucky at #9, and Tennessee at #15) ranked in
the top 15. The biggest sleeper in our
Ranking of the
Top 30 Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season
is Seton Hall, which has four starters back, as well as four new players (Keon
Lawrence, Herb Pope, Melvyn Oliver, & Jeff Robinson,
who are good enough to battle for starting spots. So obviously the big
question will be whether Pirates head coach Bobby Gonzalez will be
able to put all of the right pieces together and find the necessary
chemistry? We also had no idea that we would end up ranking Mississippi
State in our pre-season top five. However, after we went player-by-player
and compared the Bulldogs against players on Florida and Kentucky, it became
clear just how good this team really is. We also did the same thing and
gave the edge to Connecticut over Kentucky based on experience. We also
think the talent in Kentucky's freshmen class trumps Louisville depth and
experience, which explains why we give the Wildcats the edge over the
Cardinals.
Monday,
August 24, 2009
Among the latest
verbal commitments that we've added to our list of Recent Commitments
are 6'5 Mychal Parker from Charlottesville (The
Miller School) VA to the University of Maryland, 6'7 Justin Martin
from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN to Xavier, 6'1 Cedrick Lindsay
from Washington (Gonzaga) DC to the University of Richmond, 6'2 Brady
Heslip from New Hampton (Prep) NH to Boston College, 6'3 Dominique
Langston from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT to Quinnipiac, 6'6 Melvin
Ejim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH to Iowa State, 6'5 Jr Elgin
Cook from Milwaukee (Hamilton) WI to Iowa State, 6'3 Jr Jordan Green
from Flower Mound (H.S.) TX to Texas A&M, and 6'3 Jr Dominique Dunning
from Corona (Centennial) CA to New Mexico. The commitment by
Parker is especially interesting, because he is ranked #89 nationally in the
senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the talent and athleticism
necessary to evolve into one of the better players in the Atlantic Coast
Conference down the road. All he needs is toughness and a little bit
more consistent outside shot in order to step up and challenge 6'6
Terrence Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD for the wing spot
that will be vacated next spring by 6'6 Sr Greivis Vasquez.
Speaking of Maryland's recruiting class, it is tied at #14, along
with Florida International, on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date
for the Class of 2010
now
that Ross, Parker, and 6'0 Terrell Stoglin from Tucson (Santa Rita)
AZ are all in the fold. The commitment by Martin also is very
intriguing, because he passed on the Musketeers the first time around when
he picked the University of Louisville last fall. However, like so
many players in this day-and-age who make early verbal commitments when they
are sophomores and freshmen, Martin changed his mind and reneged on the Cardinals
this past spring.
And, while Martin did not have a good spring and summer, we still think this
is a steal due to the fact that we're talking about somebody with the
athleticism, outside shooting, and upside and potential necessary to evolve
into a great player down the road. Martin does need to get bigger and
stronger physically, become more consistent, and develop more of a killer
mentality. But he's probably going to grow some more and he's still
just learning how to play the game.
We also think Lindsay is a great catch for the Spiders for a number of
reasons. First, he's a very good player, as is evident by the fact
that he's currently ranked #140 nationally in the senior class by the
HOOP SCOOP. And he would be ranked even higher, if he were more of
a true point guard and/or not undersized for the 2-guard spot. Second,
Lindsay not only is an excellent 3-point shooter, but he's also a tremendous
competitor and a very good defensive player. Third, Lindsay plays for
one of the top high school coaches in the nation in Steve Turner and
it's always good to have a pipeline into one of the premier programs in the
tough DC Catholic League. Fourth, Lindsay should provide an excellent
complement to 6'3 Wayne Sparrow from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, who
is also capable of playing either guard spot and has the athleticism,
versatility, and outside shooting necessary to contribute right away. Heslip
was one of the best 3-point shooters that we saw all summer and he's a true
combo guard, as he's also capable of running the show and
creating for his teammates. Heslip also is a tremendous competitor and
he should fit perfectly into Boston College head coach Al Skinner's
system due to the fact that he's an overachiever, always seems to get the
most out of his ability, and is great at crunch time. Langston is
exactly what the doctor ordered for the Bobcats, because he's one of those
guys who can light up a scoreboard. He's also very effective using his
strength and athleticism to get to the basket or pulling up and knocking
down the mid-range jump shot. Langston also has an extra year of
maturity after having a successful four-year high school career at
Bridgeport (Kolbe Cathedral) CT. And this comes right on the heels of
6'6 Rasheem May-Thompson from Towson (Catholic) MD becoming a late
addition to
Quinnipiac's
2009 Recruiting Class, which already is ranked #1 in the league and also
includes 6'7 Tevin Baskin from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, 6'1 Deantay Twyman from Polk (JC) FL,
6'7 Jamee Jackson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ,
5'9 David Johnson from
Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, and 6'4 Ryan Bogdon from Summerville (Pinewood Prep) SC.
May-Thompson does need to get bigger and stronger physically, but he should
evolve into an excellent four-man down the road due to the fact that he is
really good at blocking shots, rebounding, scoring around the basket, and
running the court. Ejim can flat out shoot the basketball and he's got
deep range, which makes him tailor made for Iowa State head coach Greg
McDermott's system. On the other hand, Cook, who is ranked #53
nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a true
thoroughbred with a great bloodline (his father is former University of
Arkansas point guard and NBA star Alvin Robertson). And, just
like his father, Cook is excellent at slashing to the basket and has the
speed and quickness necessary to lock his man up defensively. Green is
best described as an excellent 3-point shooter and he's got a great upside,
which makes ideally suited to complement 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from
Arlington (Grace Prep) TX in a recruiting class that is now ranked #3 on our
list of the
Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2011.
Dunning has a great motor, can score in a variety of ways, and is ranked
#156 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP. We also
understand that 6'6 Anthony Brown from Huntington Beach (Ocean View)
CA, who is ranked #79 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP,
has narrowed his list of school down to four. They are UCLA, Stanford,
Arizona, and California.
Monday,
August 17, 2009
The sleepers and players without much of a reputation were the order of the
day at the Elite Players Camp,
which was held over the weekend at the
Boo Williams Sportsplex in
Hampton, VA. And right at the top of the list was 5'10 Frosh Nate Motley
from Hampton (Bethel) VA, who shot the lights out every time we watched him
play. Not only is Motley a pure shooter, but he gets his shot off in a
hurry and also is excellent at creating his own shot off the dribble.
Obviously a big key will be how much he grows. However, if Motley gets to
be 6'2 or 6'3, he could evolve into the next J.J. Reddick or the
6'4 Andre Dawkins
from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA, both of whom also played on
the Boo Williams Summer League Team and decided to attend Duke University.
And, if Motley decides he wants to follow in their footsteps, he will have
no problem getting into a school like Duke due to the fact that he is an
excellent student. Motley also is an excellent athlete and tremendous
competitor, which means we're talking about one of the best freshmen in the
nation. And, if he gets to be 6'4 or bigger, then with normal development
Motley will probably make a lot of money playing this game someday. We also
were very impressed with 5'10 8th Grader TaRon Ayers from Beckley,
WV, who reminds us of Kendall Marshall at the same stage. Not only
does Ayers have excellent ball handling and passing skills, a terrific feel
for the game, and an excellent basketball IQ, but he also is like a coach on
the floor, makes everybody around him better, and knows how to control the
tempo of the game. But we'll be surprised if Ayers grows to be 6'4 like
Marshall did. On the other hand, Ayers shoots it a lot better than
Marshall ever has, which makes him equally suited to play either the one or
the two depending upon the situation, players around him, and, in the
future, how much he grows. And what about 5'9 Frosh Andrew Rowsey
from Lexington (Rockbridge) VA? What he lacks in size he more than makes up
for with his competitiveness, outside shooting, court savvy, and ability to
run a team. Rowsey also helped set the tone early in the top all-star game
with several big steals and his ability to make things happen in
transition. Another one of the best 3-point shooters, as well as one of the
better players, in the camp was 6'2 Frosh B.J. Andrews from Baltimore
(Donough) MD. He's got deep range, big time athleticism, and nice size for
his age and position. The best big man in camp clearly was 6'7 Frosh
Rardari Bullock from Hampton (Kecoughton) VA, However, Bullock got hurt
early in the top all-star game and, as a result, did not get a chance to use
his size and athleticism to block shots, rebound, and score around the
basket while playing against the best players in camp. The player who
helped himself the most in the all-star game was 5'9 Frosh James Daniel
from Hampton (Phoebus) VA. Not only did Daniel use his speed and quickness
to blow past slower defenders, but he also impressed us with his ball
handling and passing skills and ability to beat you with his outside
shooting. My favorite player in camp might have been 6'3 Frosh Kenny
Solomon from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD. He was arguably the best
rebounder in camp. But even more important is the fact that this tough
undersized athletic power forward sacrificed his perimeter game to crash the
boards and not take any prisoners in the paint. Falling into the
multi-dimensional category were players like 6'3 Soph Jordan Stickler
from Annapolis (Christian) MD, 6'2 Frosh Charles Glover from
Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'5 Soph Aaron Bacote from Hampton (Bethel)
VA, 6'3 Frosh Andrew Calomerise from Washington (St. John's) DC, and
6'2 Soph Kevin Boyd from Baltimore (Gleneig Country School) MD. It
also looks like 6'5 Frosh Brandon Stith from Lawrenceville
(Brunswick) NC has the same silky smooth demeanor and long frame that his
father (Bryant Stith) had when we were watching him play in the late
80's. We're also still trying to decide whether 5'8 Soph Eric Christian
from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 6'3 Frosh Elijah Brown
from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, and 5'11 Frosh Blake Sanders from
London (South Laurel) KY are better at the two or the one spot. Christian
has the size, speed, and quickness necessary to be a point guard, but the
scorer's mentality necessary to be a two. Brown is used to having the ball
in his hands, but he's such a great 3-point shooter it's hard not to think
of him as a two. Sanders is a tough hardnosed competitor and has an
incredible basketball IQ. But he's a streaky outside shooter and he's
probably not going to grow a lot more, which makes him more of a one than a
two. Another interesting tidbit involves the fact that there were three
brothers participating at the camp. The oldest was 6'7 Soph Clint
McCullough from Stilwell (H.S.) KS and he impressed us with his ability
to score in a variety of ways and was one of the best big men in camp. The
other two played in played in the younger division and 6'5 8th Grader
Connor McCullough from Stillwell, KS was clearly the second best player
in this age group. The youngest of the three was 5'9 7th Grader Clay
McCullough from Stillwell, KS and he was one of the better 3-point
shooters in the camp. Also noteworthy in the younger age group were the
versatility and athleticism of players like 6'1 8th Grader Derick Brewer
from Charlotte, NC, 5'8 7th Grader Dominique Collier from Denver,
CO, and 5'9 8th Grader Floyd Preito from Philadelphia, PA; the
ability of 5'7 7th Grader Kevin Dorsey from Portabacco, MD to get
into the lane and create for his teammates, and the toughness, willingness
to run the court, and ability to finish around the basket by 6'2 8th Grader
Avery Edwards from Wake Forest, NC.
Editor's Note: If you want to
find out exactly where all of the above players are ranked, as well as to
get our complete List of the Top Players at the Elite Players Camp,
there is no time like the present to
subscribe
to the
Members Section.
Monday,
August 10, 2009
They're finally finished!!! I'm talking about our
Exclusive Ranking of the Players
at the 2009 Junior Phenom Camp,
which was held over the weekend in San Diego, CA and featured many of the
top players nationally in the Class of 2014, Class of 2015, and Class of
2016. And right at the top of the list was 5'7 7th Grader Perry Dozier
from Columbia, SC, who simply reinforced the fact that he is the best
player nationally in his class with his incredible skills, athleticism,
silky smooth demeanor, and ability to play any position on the basketball on
the court. He also has a great bloodline, as is father (Perry Dozier)
and uncle (Terry Dozier) both played for the University of South
Carolina in the 1980's. However, right now Dozier's game is a lot more like
that of Kobe Bryant due to his great ball handling and passing
skills, ability to light up a scoreboard, incredible feel for the game and
innate understanding of when to get his own points and when to make his
teammates better. But this was not the big story of the camp, as we'd
already seen Dozier emerge as the best player a year ago at two different
camps. Instead, the big story was the incredible, balance, competitiveness,
and depth of talent at this year's Junior Phenom Camp. And,
while this had to be great news for Joe Keller, who is the Executive
Director and CEO of Phenom Basketball, it was not good news
for me. That's because this was the hardest camp to evaluate in the 26
years that I've been attending superstar oriented camps dating back to the
AFBE (Athletes For Better Education) Camp in 1983. Picking
the top several players on each team wasn't much of a problem. However, it
was very difficult after that due to the fact that there just wasn't much
separation among many of the players in the middle of the camp. And, this
is important, because, if I saw all of the players in this camp 100 times,
our list would come out a 100 different ways. In other words, rankings are
a reflection of what somebody has seen, thinks, and knows at the time. So
obviously this is not an exact science and things like playing hard,
teammate work, defense, sharing the basketball, and attitude are also all
very important parts of the equation. And most of the players in this camp
get high marks in these areas. But there several notable exceptions. Can
you believe that the was a player who at the time was playing in the 6th
Grade All-Star Game that told his coach that he didn't have to listen to
him? There also was "the point guard from hell" (he never passed the
basketball) on a team in the 8th Grade Division and a parent of player from
Philadelphia, PA in the 7th Grade Division who was the ultimate overzealous
parent. She told me that the referees all told her how good her son was. I
told her that when those referees published their rankings of the top
players in camp, that he'd been in good shape. Moral to the story, this is
a very difficult task and beauty is often in the eye of the beholder. But,
unlike some of our competitors who can't even get the top players ranked
correctly (i.e. rivals.com had B.J. Mullens ranked as the #1
player in their final ranking of the top players in the Class of 2008), our
track record speaks for itself and we have stood the test of time. As for
the camp itself, the 6th Grade Division was the best age group and six of
the top 10-ranked players - 5'8 6th Grader Jeremy Hemsley from Alta
Loma, CA, 5'9 6th Grader Sebastian Baugh from Pelta, IA, 5'7 6th
Grader Kameron Edwards from Hacienda Heights, CA, 5'5 6th Graders
Nijah Pearson from Beaumont, TX, 5'7 6th Grader Tyus Battle from
Edison, NJ, and 5'9 6th Grader Zachary Collins from Las Vegas, NV -
in this age group were centers. And that number would be seven if 5'1 7th
Grader Joshua Holliday from Marietta, GA, who actually played down a
year due to the fact that he's young for his class, hadn't been switched to
the power forward spot due to the fact that's the position that he played in
the all-star game and he is ranked #1, instead of #2, at that position. The
second best age group was the 7th Grade Division, but it was the
unselfishness of players like 5'6 8th Grader Noah Robotham from Las
Vegas, NV, 6'0 8th Grader Robert Berwick from Atascadero, CA, 4'10
8th Grader Jared Hunter from Beaumont, TX, 5'7 8th Grader Isaac
Deese from Artesia, CA, 5'8 8th Grader Darryl Gaynor from Las
Vegas, NV, 5'0 8th Grader Malik Stewart from Las Vegas, NV that made
the all-star game in the 8th Grade Division by-far-and-away the best
all-star game. However, it was 6'2 8th Grader Jonathan Carson from
Milwaukee, WI, who in the end stole show with 18 points and MVP honors in
the 8th Grade All-Star Game. The MVP in the 7th Grade All-Star Game was 5'7
7th Grader Perry Dozier from Columbia, SC and the MVP in the 6th
Grade All-Star Game was 5'8 6th Grader Jeremy Hemsley from Alta Loma,
CA. To see where all of these players are ranked in our
Exclusive Ranking of the Players
at the 2009 Junior Phenom Camp,
as well as find out which players were the Sportsmanship and Best Defensive
Player Award winners, now is the perfect time to
subscribe to the
Members Section.
Monday,
August 3, 2009
Everybody seems to think that NIKE Team Florida, which is the #1-seeded team
in the tournament, and the Houston Defenders, which are the #2-seeded team
in the tournament, are the two teams to beat in this year's AAU
14-Under National Tournament in Lake Buena Vista, FL. However,
we're going to go out on a limb and tell you that the team to beat is Dream
Vision. They're seeded #2 in their pool, but yesterday they beat the New
Jersey Shoreshots, 68-37, and earlier today they beat Houston Select 13's,
75-34. This team also has excellent coaching, great chemistry, unbelievable
quickness and finesse, and an unselfish cast that includes 6'3 Frosh
Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Frosh Tyree
Robinson from San Diego, CA, 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San
Diego, CA, 6'4 Frosh Roschon Prince from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 5'10
Frosh Dalante Hoover from San Diego, CA, 6'1 Frosh Rashad Muhammad
from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, and 6'5 Frosh Jamal Aytes from San
Diego (Foothill) CA. In contrast, the Houston Defenders, which features a
nucleus that includes 6'5 Frosh Brandon Bridgewater from Baton Rouge,
LA, 6'4 Frosh Aaron Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX and 6'4
Frosh Andrew Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, relies more on
strength and power. However, before you pencil in the Houston Defenders as
the easy winner, don't forget that both Robinson's are world class athletes
and they might be even better football players than they are basketball
players. And this is important, because you can bet they won't have any
trouble going war inside against Bridgewater and matching up out on the
perimeter again the Harrison's. We also want to mention the fact that
Williams-Goss followed up yesterday's 22-point performance with 23 points
today, which makes him one of the most consistent players in the
tournament. This also once again makes him one of the top three players of
the day, along with 5'11 Frosh Kasey Hill from Mt. Dora (Bible) FL,
who had 20 points in NIKE Team Florida's 62-39 win against the Maryland
Wildcats, and 6'7 Frosh Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood
Academy) TX, who gets our Middle Atlantic Editor Tra' Toye's vote as
the best player in the tournament after the first two days. Toye also has
6'0 Frosh Matthew Hillman from Washington (Sidwell Friends) DC
extremely high on his list. Not only does Hillman shoot the lights out, but
he's physically strong, extremely skilled, and he's got a competitive
swagger about him. "He's not afraid to let you know that he just scored on
you and he's going to do it again the next time down the court," says Toye.
There also is 6'7 8th Grader Jalil Okafor from Chicago, IL, who is
playing for the Nolan Richardson Arkansas Mustangs, and was perhaps the
biggest sleeper to emerge today. Okafor also is one of the best players
with quality size in the tournament, along with 6'9 Frosh Thomas Hamilton
from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'8 Frosh William Goodwin from
Decatur (Southwest DeKalb) GA, 6'8 Frosh Tyrek Coger from Raleigh
(Upper Room Christian Academy) NC, and 6'8 Frosh Malik Price-Martin
from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL. We also were impressed with the 21-point
performance that was turned by 6'7 Frosh Chris Davenport from Atlanta
(Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, as well as all of the other talented
players, like 6'6 Frosh Antonio Davis from Atlanta (Greater Atlanta
Christian) GA, 6'5 7th Grader Kewan Johnson from Atlanta, GA, and 5'8
Frosh Anthony Bagtas from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, on the J-Smoove
Allstars. However, they have yet to find the right chemistry, as the J-Smoove
Allstars lost yesterday to Team Nelson and only beat the Charlotte Royals by
nine points in a game that was a lot closer than it should have been today.
I haven't seen the Kansas City Cowboys yet, but people are telling me that
6'4 Frosh Ishmail Wainright from Raytown (South) MO is one of the
best players in the tournament. And, after today's 73-35 win over Nothing
But Net, it looks like this might also be one of the best teams in the
tournament. Some of the players who played well enough to be mentioned
today include 5'11 8th Grader Joel Berry from Apopka (Middle School)
FL, 6'4 Frosh Jordan McKay from Richardson (Berkmar) TX, 6'5 Frosh
Marc Loving from Toledo (St. John's) OH, 6'1 Frosh Myrek Fowkles
from Baltimore, MD, 5'8 7th Grader Juwan Gooding from Boston, MA, 5'8
Frosh Cameron Calcote from Allen (H.S.) TX, 6'4 8th Grader LeRon
Black from Memphis, TN, 6'3 Frosh Deonte Burton from Milwaukee
(Vincent) WI, 6'3 Frosh Nicholas Fuller from Sun Prairie, WI, 5'11
Frosh Jack Gilbert from Columbus (DeSales) OH, and 6'3 Frosh
Allerik Freeman from Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NC.
Monday,
July 27, 2009
The
HOOP SCOOP's ranking of the top 50 players based on performance at the
five events (adidas Super
64, Reebok Summer Championship, StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament,
2009 GBOA Challenge of Champions,
& Main Event)
that took place last week in Las Vegas, NV are as follows: 1) 6'0 Joe
Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN
(Memphis (Magic),
2) 6'9
Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX
(LBA Seawolves),
3) 6'8 Jr LeBryan
Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX
(Dallas Mustangs Blue),
4) 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA
(New England Playaz),
5) 6'9
Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR
(I-5 Elite),
6) 6'5
Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY
(New Heights Blue),
7) 5'8
Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL
(Mac Irvin Fire),
8) 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA
(Atlanta Celtics J-Smoov),
9) 6'2 Keith
Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI
(Michigan Mustangs),
10) 6'9 Jr Quincy
Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality of Education Academy) NC
(D-One Sports),
11) 6'8 Josh Smith
from Kent (Kentwood) WA
(Seattle Rotary Select I),
12) 6'6 Jr
Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN
(Memphis (Magic),
13) 6'2 Gary
Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA
(California Supreme),
14) 6'8
Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD
(DC Assault Gold),
15) 6'6 J.J. Moore
from South Kent (Prep) CT
(New York Panthers),
16) 6'7 Tony
Mitchell from Miami (Choice Academy) FL
(Brandon Bass),
17) 6'6
Casey Prather from Jackson (Northside) TN
(Nashville Celtics),
18) 6'5 Jr
Damien Leonard from Greenville (J.L. Mann) SC
(Florida Rams),
19) 6'9
Cody Larson from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD
(Dakota Schoolers),
20) 6'5 Trey
Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI
(Team Detroit),
21) 6'6 Jordan
McRae from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA
(Atlanta Celtics J-Smoov),
22) 6'5
Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA
(California Supreme),
23) 6'5 Jackson
Jeffcoat from Plano (West) TX
(Dallas Heroes),
24) 6'5 Jr Wayne
Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL
(Mac Irvin Fire),
25) 5'10 Bruce
Ellington from Monack Center (Berkeley) SC
(Trademark Properties),
26) 6'2
Ray McCallum from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI
(Team Detroit),
27) 6'6 Jelan
Kendrick from College Park (Westlake) GA
(Memphis (Magic),
28) 6'8
Devon
Collier
from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ
(New Heights Blue),
29) 6'2
Trea Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA
(Atlanta Celtics J-Smoov),
30) 6'7
Carlos Emory from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN
(Minnesota Pump N Run),
31) 6'8 DeMarco
Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS
(MBA Elite),
32) 6'4
J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC
(D-One Sports),
33) 6'6 Fuquan
Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ
(Playaz Basketball Club Gold),
34) 6'3 Cory
Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV
(Grassroots Canada Elite),
35) 6'5
Rion Brown from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA
(World Renegades),
36) 6'9
Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN
(Memphis (Magic),
37) 6'8 Jr
LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS
(MBA Elite),
38) 6'1 Jr Myles
Davis from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ
(Playaz Basketball Club),
39) 6'5 Will
Watkins from Salt Lake (Olympus) UT
(Utah Pump N Run Red),
40) 6'4 Jr Brandon
Dawson from Gary (Lew Wallace) IN
(SYF Players),
41) 6'4 Chris
Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN
(Memphis (Magic),
42) 5'11 Jr Deville
Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS
(MBA Elite),
43) 6'2
Kameron Cerroni from Sussex (Hamilton) WI
(Wisconsin Playground Warriors),
44) 5'9 Brandon
Jefferson from Lewisville (H.S.) TX
(Dallas Heroes),
45) 6'9
Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA
(Team Detroit),
46) 6'3 Jr Toddrick
Gotcher from Garland (Lakeview Centennial) TX
(LBA Seawolves),
47) 6'1 Jr Anthony
Collins from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX
(Houston Swoosh Select Black),
48) 6'6 Kyle
Collinsworth from Provo (H.S.) UT
(Utah Pump N Run Red),
49) 6'6 Bryce Jones
from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA
(Compton Magic Black),
and 50) 6'0 Jr
Travis Trice from Huber Heights (Wayne) OH
(SYF Players).
Especially
noteworthy is the fact that not one player from the
Main Event
is ranked among the
top 50 players on our list above. However, that might not be fair to the
players who participated in the event, as we only attended the championship
game due to the fact that it was next to impossible to get any information
about the event, unless we physically showed up, both in advance and during
the course of the event. As a matter of fact, just how bad most of teams
were and how poorly run this event was run was one of the main topics of
conversation among all of the media, coaches, and fans alike all last week.
And this is important, because most people think that there probably will
only be two tournaments during this same time period next year in Las Vegas,
NV, as the adidas Super
64 and the Reebok Summer
Championships
are expected to merge into one tournament now that Chris Rivers is
with adidas and the Main
Event
will probably cease to exist. Also noteworthy is the fact that players like
6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'9 Tristan
Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, and 6'2 Jr Ryan Boatright
from Aurora (Aurora East) IL did not make the above list. With
Wroten and Thompson, we're talking about two of the elite players in the
nation who simply did not live up their media hype and press clippings this
past week. In the case of Boatright, he scored a lot of points, but also
was among the leaders in bad shots and poor decisions.
Editor's Note: If you want to see our coverage of all of the events
that took place last week in Las Vegas, NV, as well as find out how all of
the teams and players did in the Desert Duel, which took place
earlier this week in Phoenix, AZ, there is no time like the present to
subscribe to the
Members Section.
Monday,
July 20, 2009
With the publication of our
2009 Mid-Summer HOOP SCOOP
All-American Teams,
which features the top
players nationally regardless of class and position, it is glaringly obvious
that the Class of 2011 may not be as good as we originally thought. And a
big reason for this is the fact that five of our top 12-ranked players in
our Ranking of the Top
Players in the Class of 2011,
which was published on March 19th, have not lived up to expectations so far
this spring and summer. We're talking about 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross
from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'3 Jr Trevor Lacey from Huntsville
(Butler) AL, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL,
6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, and 6'5 Jr Samuel
"P.J." Hairston from Greensboro (Dudley) NC. In the case of Ross, it
may be the fact it's taken a long time to get over a severe ankle injury
that sidelined him this spring, but a lack of team chemistry, loss of
confidence, and maybe just not being as good as we originally thought may
have been contributing factors in some of the other cases. However, two of
the top three players - 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St.
Patrick) NJ and 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL - and
seven our of top 20 ranked players - 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park
(H.S.) FL, 6'4 Jr Marques Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'3 Jr
Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'0 Jr Myck Kabongo
from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Jr James McAdoo from Norfolk
(Christian) VA, and 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX - on
this list are rising juniors and, as s result, we think the Class of 2011
still has a chance to achieve greatness. And when we dig a little deeper
was also find that 12 of the top 50-ranked players and 30 of our top
100-ranked players on this list are rising juniors. In contrast to the
Class of 2011, which developed early (a year ago we had 10 rising sophomores
on our
2008 Mid-Summer HOOP
SCOOP All-American Teams),
it looks like the Class of 2012 is developing at a much slower pace, as
there are only two rising sophomores - 6'4 Soph Shabazz Muhammad from
Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV and 6'7 Soph Kyle Anderson from Paterson
(Catholic) NJ - who make our list of the top 100 players nationally
regardless of class and position. The rest of our list includes 68 rising
seniors and zero 5th Year players, as for the first time in years there
isn't a plethora of graduating seniors sticking around to compete on the AAU
and club team circuit for an extra year due to the fact that they didn't
make it academically. We also think it's important to point out that unlike
some of our competitors we're not just looking at size, athleticism, and pro
potential when compiling these rankings. Thus, explains why we have 7'0
Fabricio DeMelo (Fab Melo) from Weston (Sagemont) FL ranked so much
lower than most our competition. DeMelo does have all of the ingredients
necessary to develop into a force to be reckoned with inside down the road.
But right now DeMelo is not even the best player on a struggling AAU team
and it is our editorial policy to let a player earn it. As a matter of
fact, more players than we care to remember have been ruined by reading
their press clippings and, as a result, believing that they are better than
they really are. In contrast, we take into consideration a number of
things, like where a player is right now, how much he's already improved,
what kind of attitude and work ethic he has, and both college and NBA
potential. And, if you want to be ranked among the truly elite players in
the nation, you'd better be pretty darn good right now. And what about the
fact that 44 of the 100 players found on our
2009 Mid-Summer HOOP SCOOP
All-American Teams
have already made early verbal commitments to four-year Division I college
and universities? And six of the 30 rising juniors are already off the
board, as 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL is bound
for Florida, 6'0 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ is
bound for Texas, 6'7 Jr Aaron Ross from Little Rock (Parkview) AR is
bound for Arkansas, 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX is
bound for Texas A&M, 6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion
Christian) NC is bound for Florida International, and 6'6 Jr Chane
Behanan from Cincinnati (Aiken) OH is bound for Cincinnati. It also is
worth pointing out that only three of the 44 commitments have been made to
schools that are not in one of the six high major conferences (ACC, Big
East, Big-10, Big-12, SEC, and Pac-10) in college basketball. The lone
exceptions are 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD to
Memphis, which is in Conference USA, but recruits like a high major school;
6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC to Florida
International, which is in the Sun Belt Conference and is very intriguing to
a lot players now that Isiah Thomas is the head coach; and 6'3
Langston Galloway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life) LA to St. Joseph's,
which is in the Atlantic-10 Conference and has produced more than its share
of great guards over the years. We also want to remind 6'2 Jr Jamal
Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX, who has already committed to Texas A&M
twice and reneged once, that there is still time if he wants to go after
Jermaine Bell's record for being the player who has committed to and
reneged on the same school the most times. If you will recall, Bell
committed to St. John's one three different occasions, but never ended up
playing for Mike Jarvis due to the fact he never made it academically
and, as a result, ended up going the junior college route. Editor's Note:
Our 2009 Mid-Summer HOOP
SCOOP All-American Teams can be found exclusively in the
Members Section and, as a result, now is the perfect time to
subscribe.
Monday,
July 13, 2009
How
quickly things can change. We're talking about the fact that prior to the
start of this year's NIKE
Peach Jam
in
North Augusta, SC we thought that 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft.
Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, who was missing in action from the three major
shoe company sponsored events that took place last week, would be the player
that would step up and challenge 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus
(Northland) OH for top player honors in the senior class nationally.
However, Knight fractured his foot in a game last night and, as a result,
may be out for the remainder for the summer. Instead, it looks like 6'8
Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, who a month ago was the consensus
#1-ranked player nationally in the class, but finished ranked no higher than
#19 overall and #5 at his position at the
LeBron James King City Classic,
may now be up to the task. In his first game yesterday morning he had 18
points against Each One Teach One Team Stat, which featured 6'3 Brandon
Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL and 6'4 Jr Austin
Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL. Then, in the evening session last
night Barnes had 28 points and eight rebounds against Spiece Indy Heat,
which featured 67 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN;
this morning he had 36 points and 10 rebounds against the Houston Hoops; and
this evening he had 26 points against the Jackson Tigers. As for Sullinger,
he had only 10 points and four rebounds, but still managed to win the
rematch yesterday morning against 6'8 Josh Smith from Kentwood (Kent)
WA, who had only eight points and one rebound for Seattle Rotary Select.
Sullinger also had 25 points and four rebounds last night against Team
Florida; 19 points and 17 rebounds in today's morning session against the
Playaz Basketball Club; and 18 points and 13 rebounds against the Oakland
Soldiers today's evening session, which makes him both one of the leading
scorers and rebounders in the tournament after a day-and-a-half of action.
And what about 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, who
had 20 points and eight rebounds yesterday morning against Team Texas Elite,
47 points and 15 rebounds last night against Louisiana Select, and 22
points, seven rebounds, and four steals this morning against the St. Louis
Eagles? That's 29.7 pg and 10.0 rpg in yet another one of the dominant
performances of the tournament. Another player everybody is talking about
is 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills) NY, who had
20 points and nine rebounds when we saw him this morning against Team Final
and 6'8 Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ. Speaking
of Gilchrist, he had 13 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks this morning
against the Albany City Rocks, but is still not playing to the level that we
had come to expect prior to when he got hurt at the
NBA Players Association Camp
almost a month ago. You also have to be impressed with the numbers being
put by 5'10 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal) TX, as this
undersized point guard has had two game where he's had double-digits assists
and earlier this evening he had 32 points, seven rebounds, eight assists,
and five steals against Louisiana Select. Another one of the top point
guards in the tournament is 6'3 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis
(Pike) IN and, although he only had 15 points and four assists against the
Houston Hoops, this explosive point guard who is expected to commit to the
University of Louisville sooner than later made some incredible passes and
was as good as anybody at blowing by defenders. We also have to mention 5'8
Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, because he had 27
points, four assists and two steals against the St. Louis Eagles and is the
only guy on the Mac Irvine Fire who is playing well. One of the fastest
rising players in the tournament has to be 6'4 Jeremy Lamb from
Norcross (H.S.) GA. He didn't start for his high school team this past
season, but is expected to grow three or four more inches and is terrific at
using his athleticism and moves to get to the basket. Ironically, when we
saw Lamb, he was match-up against 6'5 Brian Richardson from Wilson
(Greenfield) NC, who is another rail thin athlete who weighs only 160
pounds, but is really good at getting his shot off the dribble. Another guy
whose confidence level and play has improved dramatically is Texas A&M-bound
6'8 Tobi Oyedeji from Houston (Bellaire) TX. Not only did Oyedeji
have 15 points and four assists against the Spiece Indy Heat, but he also
impressed with us with hook shot and offensive moves around the basket.
And, of course, there is 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson)
OR, who had eight points, nine rebound, and seven blocked shots when we saw
him this morning against the Arkansas Wings. He still tries to do too much
away from the basket, but appears to be totally wide open, as is evident by
the fact that coaches from schools like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina,
Arizona, Indiana, Memphis, UCLA, California, Kansas, Georgetown, Maryland,
Marquette, Oregon State, Texas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State were all at his
game.
Monday,
July 6, 2009
The
rosters were released this morning for the
Le Bron James Skills Academy,
which
will be held today and tomorrow in Akron, OH, and the level of talent
appears to be off the hook as the list of players includes 6'8 Harrison
Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'7 Jared Sullinger from Columbus
(Northland) OH, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7
DeShaun Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'3 Josh Selby from
Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake
Clifton) MD, 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'3
Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Reggie Bullock
from Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop
O'Connell) VA, 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 6'0
Ray McCallum from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'3 Dion
Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'3 J.T. Terrell from
Burlington (Cummings) NC, 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Cheseapeake
(Atlantic Shores) VA, 6'10 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX,
6'8 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'6 Jelan
Kendrick from College Park (Westlake Village) GA, 5'8 Phil Pressey
from Dallas (Episcopal Academy) TX, 6'5 Ralston Turner from Muscle
Shoals (H.S.) AL, 6'3 Crandall Head from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'5
James Bell from Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'8 Dominique Ferguson
from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'8 Tobias Harris from
Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY, 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Cherry
Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'2 Taran Buie from Albany (Bishop
Magin) NY, 7'0 Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 6'3 Daniel
Bejarano from Phoenix (North) AZ, 6'1 Reggie Smith from Thornton
(Harvey) IL, 6'9 Evan Smotrycz from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'7
Bakari Turner from Plano (West) TX, 6'8 Okaro White from
Clearwater (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Jason Morris from Lakeville (Hotchkiss) CT,
5'10 Juwan Staten from Dayton (Thurgood Marshall) OH, 6'5 Moses
Morgan from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) CA, 6'9 James Johnson from San
Diego (Morse) CA, 6'7 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill)
VA, 6'9 Adreian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, 6'7 Tony
Mitchell from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'2 Isaiah
Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 C.J. Fair from Baltimore
(City College) MD, 6'5 Gerard Coleman from Tilton (School) NH, 6'8
Daniel Alexander from Dripping Springs (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Alex Kirk
from Los Alamos (H.S.) NM,6'5 Frank Williams from Raytown (H.S.) MO,
6'6 Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Russell Byrd
from Ft. Worth (Blackhawk Christian) IN, 6'5 Keala King from Compton
(Dominguez) CA, 5'9 Andre Stringer from Jackson (H.S.) MS, 5'6
Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'6 Jamail Jones
from Decatur (Stone Mountain) GA, 6'10 Dwight Powell from Bradenton
(Pendleton School) FL, 6'3 Cameron Wright from Cleveland
(Benedictine) OH, 6'9 Travis Carroll from Danville (H.S.) IN, 6'3
Aluin Guo from Liaoning, China, 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.)
FL, 6'2 Jr Trevor Lacey from Huntsville (Butler) AL, 6'2 Jr
Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear
from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St.
Benedict's) NJ, 6'5 Jr Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Jr
Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas
from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA, 6'5 Trey Ziegler from Mt.
Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Jr Kevin Johnson from Gardena (Serra) CA, 6'5
Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney
from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, 6'6 Jr
Michael Gbinije
from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Jr Johnny Bryant
from Cleveland (East Side) TN, 6'8
Jr Kyle Wiltjer
from Portland (Jesuit) OR, 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson
from Gilbert (Highland) AZ, 6'11 Jr Malcolm Gilbert
from
Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church)
PA,
6'7 Soph Perry
Ellis from Wichita (Wichita Heights) KY, 6'4 Soph Justin Anderson
from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, and 6'8 Soph DaJuan Coleman
from Syracuse (Jamesville-DeWitt) NY. Unfortunately things won't heat up at
this NIKE Sponsored event until day after tomorrow when it changes its name
to the King City Classic,
adds 10 new players from the
NIKE Hoop Jamboree,
and moves to Cleveland, OH. And we'll provide you with all the highlights
and player rankings from both the
King City Classic
in
Cleveland, OH on Wednesday, July 8th, and Thursday, July 9th, and the
Reebok All-American Camp
in
Philadelphia, PA on Wednesday, July 8th, Thursday, July 9th, and Friday,
July 10th. So stay tuned! In the meantime, after watching drills and
station work (but no games) last night and this morning at the
LeBron James Skills Academy,
we've changed venues to the
adidas It Takes 5 Classic
in Cincinnati, OH, where we've been watching games this afternoon and
evening and plan to publish highlights from the tournament as time permits
tomorrow. So obviously now is the perfect time
to
subscribe to the
Members Section.
Monday,
June 29, 2009
There are four ingredients necessary to make a great camp and the
Phenom 150 Camp,
which look place over the weekend in San Diego, CA, had the star power,
quality inside players, and the overall depth necessary to make this
arguably the best camp that Joe Keller, who the President and C.E.O.
of Phenom Basketball, has had in the four year's that he's been running a
camp for this age group. As a matter of fact, one of the only things that
was missing from were unselfish point guards, like 6'0 Junior Cadugon
from Humble (Christian Life) TX or 6'4 Jr Kendall Marshall from
Arlington (Bishop Connell) VA, who led their respective teams to the
championship and were ranked among the top players in the camp the last two
years at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in
Charlottesville, VA. Instead, undersized 2-guards who wanted to jack up
every shot regardless of how well they were covered was clearly the order of
the day. Also missing for this year camp was 6'4 Frosh Shabazz Muhammed
from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who was ranked #1 nationally in the Class
of 2012 when we recently published our our Ranking of the Top
500 Players Nationally in the Class of 2012 (Muhammed
was actually at the camp, but didn't play due to an injury). But it didn't
matter, because 6'5 8th Grader Brian Bridgewater from Baton Rouge, LA
simply picked up where left off last summer when he was the best player in
his age group at the Junior All-American Camp in Chantilly, VA and
was ranked #17 by the HOOP SCOOP at the AAU 14-Under Nationals
in Lake Buena Vista, FL while playing up against players a year older.
Bridgewater was like a man among boys in this camp, as he totally dominated
around the basket and probably set a record for the most electrifying dunks
that we've ever seen in one weekend. He capped all this off with 14 points
in the first half of the all-star game in the Rising Freshman Division, but
missed the rest of the game due to the fact that he had to catch a flight.
However, this time around, it didn't matter (he also missed the all-star
game a year ago at the Junior All-American Camp and, as a result, was
not the #1-ranked player in camp) because Bridgewater was just that much
better than every body else. And this is important, because, until proven
otherwise, Bridgewater has to be the best player in the Class of 2013.
Obviously Bridgewater needs to grow some more in order to insure that some
somebody doesn't pass him up down the road. But right now he has such a
great motor, such a great combination of size, skills, athleticism, and
mobility, and is so far ahead of everybody else in both the camp and the
class that it's scary. However, when Bridgewater at half-time of the
all-star game, that left the door open for 6'3 8th Grader Tyrell Robinson
from San Diego, CA and 6'3 8th Grader Tyree Robinson from San Diego,
CA to step up and steal the show. They also were named the MVP's for their
respective teams in the all-star game, as it seemed liked they took turns in
the second half making one great move after another in transition and to
create a shot from beyond the arc. Tryell finished with 22 points and also
had a pair of treys. But we gave the nod in a close call in our rankings to
Tyrell, who had 21 points and three treys, due to the fact that his team won
the game. Also leaving very little doubt about who was the best player in
the Rising Sophomore Division was 6'7 Frosh Winston Sheppard from
Sugar Land, TX, as he finished with 21 points and was so active and
versatile both around the basket and in transition that we started to hear
Kevin Garnett/Michael Gilchrist comparisons. Unfortunately Sheppard
doesn't play with this type of effort and intensity all of the time and, as
a result, we're not quite ready to start talking about him being the best
players nationally in his class. We also thought 6'0 8th Grader D.J.
Griggs from Lake Jackson, TX played so well in the all-star game that we
moved him ahead of 6'2 8th Grader Clyde Smith from Houston, TX, who
was our #1-ranked player in this age group right up until the all-star
game. We also were very impressed with the number of quality inside players
in camp, as the Rising Sophomore Division featured 12 players 6'7 Frosh
Winston Sheppard from Sugar Land, TX, 6'5 Frosh Matt Shrigley
from Encinitas, CA, 6'5 Frosh Malik Fields from Fayetteville, AR, 6'7
Frosh Romas Marcinkevicius from Avon, CT, 6'5 Frosh Rasean Simpson
from San Diego, CA, 6'5 Frosh Najeal McMillian from Milwaukee,
WI, 6'7 Frosh Adam Lacey from San Diego, CA, 6'4 Frosh George
Sherwood from Kalispell, MT, 6'6 Frosh Austin Roark from Tigeras,
NM, 6'2 Frosh Thomas Butler from San Diego, CA, 6'7 Frosh Kenny
Kaminski from Medina, OH, and 6'6 Frosh Tyler Holloway from
Tomball, TX - at the center position who were ranked among our top 50
players in camp in this age group. And the Rising Freshman Division was
even better, as there are 13 players at the center position who are ranked
among the the top 50 players in camp. This list includes 6'5 8th Grader
Brian Bridewater from Baton Rouge, LA, 6'3 8th Grader DeOsic West
from Spring, TX, 6'5 8th Grader Dylan Jones from Alameda, CA, 6'5 8th
Grader Jeremiah Turner from San Diego, CA, 6'8 8th Grader Parker
Callender from Houston, TX, 6'4 8th Grader Dwayne Foreman from
Spring Valley, NY, 6'4 8th Grader Jesse Lopez from El Paso, TX, 6'3
8th Grader Devron Kennedy from Wylie, TX, 6'4 8th Grader Rashad
Muhammad from Las Vegas, NV, 6'2 8th Grader Marcus Lee from
Antioch, CA, 6'4 8th Grader Jamal Aytes from San Diego, CA, 6'5 8th
Grader Jeffery Beverly from Richmond, TX, and 6'5 8th Grader
Steven Haney from East Lansing, MI. Now also is a good time to
point out that a lot of these players can also play out on the perimeter
and, as a result, will project as wing players down the road depending upon
how much they grow and what areas they focus on as they continue to develop
their game. However, for our purposes, these ranking are reflective of
what we saw in camp and, with only one exception, we required every team in
camp to have at least one center. But that's easy when compared to
determining what position to put a lot of the guards and perimeter players.
We also take into account at what position a player might get ranked higher
and whether he's a pass first or shoot first kind of guy when putting
together these rankings. Thus, explains why a lot of undersized guys
ended up being ranked at the 2-guard spot when they think they're a point
guard. The depth was also the best it's ever been, as the number of
bad players at the bottom of the camp were few and far between and there
were a lot of good players who didn't make the all-star game in their
respective classes. On the other end of the spectrum 6'11 Frosh Jack Taylor from Lawrenceville, NJ
had a tough week. But before you start to feel too sorry for Taylor,
remember you can't teach size and, if you're 7-feet tall and you can catch,
pass, shoot, set picks and screens, and are willing to sacrifice your body,
you have a chance to play in the NBA. Also big guys develop later than
perimeter players and, as a result, Taylor clearly was one of the guys in
the camp with the most potential. Moral to the story, hopefully Taylor will
turn a negative into a positive by going home and continuing to work hard
and develop into the good player that we know he can become. We also think
it's important to point out that there were a number of players (i.e.
Clyde Smith, Mytaah Crawford, David Travers, Bryan
Velasco, Shai Shai Matthews, Cullen Neal, Bryce Alford,
and Cameron Epps) that we've
seen at this camp and the Junior Phenom Camp in recent years who take
what they've learned and go home and getter better every year. And really
that's what all this is about, as where you're ranked and how well you play
in an event like this is a nice measuring stick to see where you're at the
time. But really what's important is continuing to work on your game, keep
getting better, and hopefully getting a college scholarship down the road.
As for the selfish chemistry killing point guards from hell who were in
camp. You know who you are and the day of reckoning is coming, if you don't
grow and/or develop more of a pass first and shoot less mentality. In
contrast, a list of the unsung heroes in camp is what comes next.
Editor's Note: The Defensive Award Winners in the Rising 9th
Grade Division (Class of 2013), The Sportsmanship Winners in the Rising 9th
Grade Division (Class of 2013,
The Defensive Award Winners in the Rising 10th Grade Division (Class
of 2012), and The
Sportsmanship Winners in the Rising 9th Grade Division (Class of 2012),
as well as all of the rankings are now available exclusively in the
Members Section. So now is the perfect time
to
subscribe.
Monday,
June 22, 2009
Clay Dade has released the list of players that he expects to be in
attendance at the
Freshmen All-American Camp
in Lexington, KY,
which will tip-off in the Joe Craft Center Practice Facility in Lexington,
KY on Thursday, June 25th, at 6:00 PM, and it includes 6'4 8th Grader
Jubril Adekoya from Tinley Park, IL, 6'7 8th Grader Agau Akoy
from Omaha, NE, 6'5 8th Grader Jamal Aytes from San Diego, CA, 6'6
8th Grader Payton Bank from Aliso Viejo, CA, 6'8 8th Grader
TreShawn Bolden from Jackson, MS, 5'8 8th Grader Marquan Botley
from Plano, TX, 5'1 8th Grader Lawrence Briggs from Chicago, IL, 6'2
8th Grade Carlos Burse from Alpharetta, GA, 6'3 8th Grader Deonte
Burton from Milwaukee, WI, 5'11 8th Grader Cliff Bussey from
Toledo, OH, 6'8 8th Grader Akil Carr from Baltimore, MD, 6'1 8th
Grader Anthony Carroll from Wauwatosa, WI, 6'6 8th Grader Taco
Charlton from Pickerington, OH, 6'6 8th Grader Christian Bradley
from Melbourne, FL, 5'7 8th Grader Stevie Clark from Oklahoma City,
OK, 6'5 8th Grader Clayton Drekalo from Orlando, FL, 6'8 8th Grader
Coger Tyrek from Raleigh, NC, 6'8 8th Grader Austin Colbert
from Chesepeake, VA, 6'1 8th Grader Markell Crawford from Memphis,
TN, 6'5 8th Grader Deontaye Curtis from Birmingham, AL, 6'3 8th
Grader Justin Dotson from Central, SC, 6'3 8th Grader Dyson
Demetrius from Covington, TN, 6'1 8th Grader Royal Ewing from
Chicago, IL, 6'6 8th Grader Tony Farmer from East Cleveland, OH, 6'5
8th Grader D.J. Fenner from Springdale, MD, 6'4 8th Grader Isaiah
Flowers from Chicago, IL, 6'6 8th Grader Jackson Forbes from
Plano, TX, 6'7 8th Grader Alex Foster from Plainfield, IL, 6'4 8th
Grader Keith Frazier from Irving, TX, 5'6 8th Grader Jarvis
Garrett from Milwaukee, WI, 6'5 8th Grader Gladden Byron from
Charlotte, NC, 5'8 8th Grader Colten Gober from Colleyville, TX, 5'9
8th Grader Grant Matthew from Los Angeles, CA, 6'6 8th Grader
Derrick Griffin from Richmond, TX, 6'8 8th Grader Tommy Hamilton
from Chicago, IL, 6'1 8th Grader Kendal Harris from Dallas, TX, 6'5
8th Grader Aaron Harrison from Richmond, TX, 6'5 8th Grader Andrew
Harrison from Richmond, TX, 6'6 8th Grader Collin Hartman from
Fishers, IN, 6'6 8th Grader Nigel Hayes from Toledo, OH, 6'3 8th
Grader Darryl Hicks from Shelbyville, KY, 6'2 8th Grader Kasey
Hill from Eustis, FL, 5'11 8th Grader Matt Hillman from
Gaithersburg, MD, 6'8 8th Grader Kuran Iverson from West Hartford,
CT, 6'5 8th Grader Arshad Jackson from Hampton, GA, 6'1 8th Grader
Tadric Jackson from Ashburn, GA, 6'3 8th Grader Alfonso Johnson
from Harvest, AL, 6'3 8th Grader Eric Johnson from Garland, TX, 6'2
8th Grader Matt Jones from DeSoto, TX, 6'4 8th Grader Ron Jones
from Augusta, GA, 6'4 8th Grader Vequan Jones from Wylie, TX, 6'6
8th Grader Will Jones from Augusta, GA, 6'3 8th Grader Dakota
Jongebloed from Powhatan, VA, 6'1 8th Grader Tyler Jordan from
Ballwin, MO, 5'10 8th Grader from Keith Marvie from Sauk Village, IL,
6'5 8th Grader Nick King from Memphis, TN, 5'11 8th Grader Travon
Landry from San Antonio, TX, 6'4 8th Grader Keith Langston from
Chicago, IL, 6'2 8th Grader Lewis Devin from Riverdale, GA, 5'8 8th
Grader Dre'Sean Looney from Memphis, TN, 6'6 8th Grader Marc
Loving from Toledo, OH, 6'0 8th Grader John Marshall from
Phoenix, AZ, 6'6 8th Grader Jordan Martin from Florissant, MO, 6'5
8th Grader Greg McClinton from Winston-Salem, NC, 6'5 8th Grader
Justin McCray from Ridgeland, MS, 6'1 8th Grader Danny McGrath
from Brentwood, TN, 6'2 8th Grader Demetrius McFadden from Columbia,
SC, 6'1 8th Grader L.J. McIntosh from Riverdale, IL, 6'5 8th Grader
Kennedy Meeks from Charlotte, NC, 6'4 8th Grader Mickey Jordan
from Dallas, TX, 6'5 8th Grader Tory Miller from Lees Summit, MO, 6'7
8th Grader Mike Mills from Canton, MO, 5'11 8th Grader Shelton
Mitchell from Waxhaw, NC, 6'3 8th Grader Rashad Muhammad from Las
Vegas, NV, 6'5 8th Grader Jordan Neff from Kennesaw, GA, 6'5 8th
Grader Austin Nichols from Collierville, TN, 6'7 8th Grader
Terrance O'Donohue from Marietta, GA, 6'4 8th Grader Maurice O'Field
from Cleveland, OH, 6'7 8th Grader Goodluck Okonoboh from Boston, MA,
6'1 8th Grader Miles Overton from Glen Mill, PA, 6'6 8th Grader
Johnny Patterson from Chicago, IL, 6'4 8th Grader Tommie Peoples
from Lithonia, GA, 6'4 8th Grader Kendall Pollard from Chicago, IL,
6'8 8th Grader Malik Price-Martin from Miami-FL, 6'3 8th Grader
Rodney Purvis from Raleigh, NC, 6'7 8th Grader Julius Randle from
McKinney, TX, 6'5 8th Grader Vinay Reddy from San Antonio, TX, 6'0
8th Grader David Robertson from Cary, NC, 6'3 8th Grader Shaheed
Robinson from Sumter, SC, 6'4 8th Grader Tyree Robinson from San
Diego, CA, 6'4 8th Grader Tyrell Robinson from San Diego, CA, 6'5 8th
Grader Zach Rogers from Tulsa, OK, 6'0 8th Grader Brett Scott
from Ft. Wayne, IN, 6'0 8th Grader Bryson Scott from Ft. Wayne, IN,
6'5 8th Grade LaDerrick Scott from Forest, MS, 5'11 8th Grader
Jaaron Simmons from Dayton, OH, 6'0 8th Grader Tre' Smith from
Simpsonville, SC, 6'0 8th Grader Jaren Sina from Lake Hopatcong, NJ,
6'4 8th Grader Jordan Swopshire from O'Fallon, MO, 6'0 8th Grader
Jahmal Taylor from Los Angeles, CA, 6'8 8th Grader Xavier Taylor
from Chicago, IL, 6'1 8th Grader Tanner Tepe from Piedmont, OK, 6'2
8th Grader Shirmane Thomas from Dallas, TX, 6'3 8th Grader Torlorf
"Tee" Thomas from Montgomery, AL, 6'6 8th Grader Malik Thompson
from Orlando, FL, 6'4 8th Grader Tarique Thompson from Raeford, NC,
5'9 8th Grader Preston Troutt from Dallas, TX, 5'7 8th Grader
Anthony Virdure from St. Louis, MO, 6'5 8th Grader Ishmael Wainwright
from Overland Park, KS, 5'10 8th Grader Manuale Watkins from
Columbia, MO, 6'6 8th Grader Seab Webster from Gurley, AL, 6'5 8th
Grader Nick Wells from Akron, OH, 6'8 8th Grader Jonathan Williams
from Memphis, TN, 6'2 8th Grader Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson,
NV, 6'0 8th Grader Xavier Williams from San Diego, CA, 6'1 8th Grader
C.J. Wilson from Conyers, GA, 5'9 8th Grader Jordan Wilson from
Los Angeles, CA, 6'6 8th Grader Kyle Wilson from Dallas, TX, 5'9 8th
Grader Eris Winder from Las Vegas, NV, 6'5 8th Grader Allen
Winford from Jackson, MS, and 6'3 8th Grader Dontonio Wingfield
from Cincinnati, OH. Unfortunately I will not be among the scouts in
attendance at this year's
Freshmen All-American Camp.
Instead, for the
fourth consecutive year I will be covering the
Phenom Top 150 Camp,
which will be held at Alliant University in San Diego, CA on June
25th-28th. And, as always, we expect this camp to have more than its share
of the top rising freshmen (Class of 2013) and sophomores (Class of 2012) in
the nation.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The early returns are
after this morning's session at the NBA Players
Association Top 100 Camp
and our
Ranking of the Top Players, which include the players on
eight of the 10 teams in camp and exclude the players on the Cavs (Brandon
Knight, Rakeem Christmas, Roscoe Smith, LeBryan Nash,
Rodney Odom, Melvin Tabb, Tobi Oyedeji, Jerian Grant,
Lenzelle Smith, and Damontre Harris) and the Hornets (Jared
Sullinger, Joe Jackson, James Bell, Will Regan,
Markel Starks, Jordan McRae, Mychal Parker, Madracus
Wade, Dwight Powell, Russell Byrd, and Jabari Parker)
are as follows: 1) 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St.
Patrick) NJ, 2) 6'6 Jr Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD,
3) 6'4 Jr Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 4)
6'9 Jr Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 5) 6'5 Jr
Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores) VA, 6) 6'1 Jr Ray
McCallum from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 7) 6'6 Jr Harrison
Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 8) 6'7 Jr Jereme Richmond from
Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 9) 5'8 Jr Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal)
TX, 10) 6'11 Jr Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 11) 6'4 Jr
Justin Coleman from Richmond (Henrico County) VA, and 12) 6'3 Jr Josh
Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD. We also have broken the
players on these eight teams down by position and our list of the
Top Centers in Camp based on
performance this morning includes 1) 6'11 Jr Perry Jones from
Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 2) 6'8 Jr Jordan Latham from Baltimore (City
College) MD, 3) 7'0 Jr Fab Melo fromWeston (Sagemont) FL, 4) 6'11 Jr
Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 5) 6'8 Jr Patric Young
from Jacksonville (Paxon School) FL, 6) 6'9 Jr Adreian Payne from
Dayton (Jefferson OH, 7) 6'9 Jr James Johnson from San Diego (Morse)
CA, 8) 6'9 Soph Angelo Chol frrom San Diego (Hoover) CA, 9) 6'11 Jr
Alex Kirk from Los Alamos (H.S.) NM, and 10) 6'11 Moussa-Keita
Baye from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA. Our list of the
Top Power Forwards in Camp
based on
performance this morning includes 1) 6'8 Soph Michael Gilchrist from
Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 2) 6'9 Jr Tristan Thompson from Henderson
(Findlay Prep) NV, 3) 6'8 Jr Josh Hairston from Spotsylvania
(Courtland) VA, 4) 6'8 Jr Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's)
MA, 5) 6'9 Jr Evan Smotrycz from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6) 6'8 Jr
Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 7) 6'9 Jr Michael
Cobbins from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX, 8) 6'8 Jr Okara White from
Clearwater (H.S.) FL, 9) 6'8 Jr Jonathan Graham from Baltimore
(Calvert Hall) MD, and 10) 6'8 Jr Dominique Ferguson from
Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN. Our list of the
Top Wing Forwards in Camp
based on
performance this morning includes 1) 6'6 Jr Harrison Barnes from Ames
(H.S.) IA, 2) 6'7 Jr Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 3) 6'7
Jr Shaquille Thomas from Beckley (Mountain State) WV, 7) 6'6 Jr
Jelan Kendrick from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, 4) 6'8 Soph LaQuinton Ross
from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 5) 6'6 Jr Michael Gbinije from Richmond
(Benedictine) VA, 6) 6'8 Jr Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, 8)
6'7 Jr Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA, 9) 6'6 Jr
Desmond Simmons from Richmond (Salesiam) CA, and 10) 6'4 Jr Stacey
Poole from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL. Our list of the
2-Guards
in Camp based on performance this morning includes 1) 6'6 Jr
Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 2) 6'5 Jr Andre
Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores) VA, 3) 6'4 Jr Justin
Coleman from Richmond (Henrico County) VA, 4) 6'3 Jr Josh Selby
from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 5) 6'6 Jr Reggie Bullock from
Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6) 6'3 Jr Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life
Center) NJ, 7) 6'5 Jr Doran Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA,
8) 6'6 Jr Anthony Brown from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA, 9) 6'3
Jr Crandall Head from Chicago (Crane) IL, and 10) 6'5 Jr Tyler
Lamb from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA. Our list of the Point Guards
in Camp based on performance this morning includes 1) 6'4 Jr
Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 2) 6'1 Jr
Ray McCallum from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 3) 5'8 Jr Phil
Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal) TX, 4) 6'2 Jr Keith Appling from
Detroit (Pershing) MI, 5) 6'3 Jr Noah Cottrill from Beckley (Morgan
State) WV, 6) 6'2 Jr Isaiah Epps from Plainsfield (H.S.) NJ, 7) 6'0
Jr Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 8) 6'3 Jr Cory
Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 9) 6'2 Jr Kyrie Irving
from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 10) 6'0 Soph Derrick Wilson from
Lakeville (Hotchkiss) CT, 11) 5'11 Jr Trevor Releford from Shawnee
Mission (Bishop Miege) KS, 12) 6'2 Jr Aaron Craft from Findlay
(Liberty-Benton) OH, 13) 6'2 Jr Ian Miller from Charlotte (United
Faith) NC, and 14) 6'2 Jr Shannon Scott from Norcross (Milton) GA.
It also should be noted that the deepest position in camp is clearly at
point guard and, although 6'4 Jr Kendall Marshall from Arlington
(Bishop O'Connell) VA didn't score a lot of points, he heads this list after
doing a great job of threading the needle with some dazzling assists.
We also were surprised by how much better 7'0 Jr Fab Melo fromWeston
(Sagemont) FL played after turning in a mediocre performance at the Bob
Gibbons Tournament of Champions. Melo impressed us with a couple
of hook shots, a pair of jumpers from the 15'-20' range, and a dunk.
We also thought 6'9 Jr Evan Smotrycz from New Hampton (Prep) NH
answered any questions that we might have about being athletic enough to get
it done against the top players in the nation. Mark him down as
perfect fit for John Beilein's system at Michigan and it wouldn't
surprise us on bit if he ended up being even better than Kevin Pittsnogle
someday. We also thought 6'11 Jr Alex Kirk from Los Alamos
(H.S.) NM more than make up for his lack of athleticism with his great
hustle, feel for the game, always being in the right place time, and high
skill level. The biggest sleeper in camp has to be 6'4 Jr
Justin Coleman from Richmond (Henrico County) VA, who shot the ball
extremely well and ended up being the second leading scorer in camp with 23
points in today's morning session. The biggest disappointment
was 6'2 Jr Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who
didn't make a single outside shot en route to only four points in his first
game. Editor's Note: To get our expert analysis
and rankings of the top players after tonight's, tomorrow's, and Saturday's
sessions of camp now is the perfect time to
subscribe
to the Members Section.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
We've
been telling you for a long time that the next great class in high school
basketball will be the Class of 2011, which features 6'8 Soph Michael
Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Soph Tony Wroten
from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'8 Soph LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah)
MS, 6'3 Soph Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, et al.
However, after working off-and-on for the last month on our
Ranking of the Top 500 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2012,
which was published exclusively in the Members Section earlier
today, we're starting to think the Class of 2012 also has a chance to be one
of the better classes to come down the pike in a long time. First, it has
plenty of star power. And, after leading his team to the championship in
the
15-Under Division at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions
with 35 points on 11-18 field goals and 13-20 free throws in the title game
and finishing ranked #13 overall at the Pangos All-American Camp
after scoring
10 points and hitting 5-6 field goals in the Top 25 Cream of the Crop
All-Star Game, 6'4 Frosh Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop
Gorman) NV has separated himself from the rest of the pack. We also really
like 6'7 Frosh Perry Ellis from Wichita (Wichita Heights) KS, who was
the best player last summer at the 14-Under AAU Nationals, and 6'0
Frosh J'Michal Reese from Bryan (H.S.) TX, who has been one of the
top players in the class dating all the way back to when he was a rising 5th
Grader at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp. However, Reese hasn't grown
in a long time and he's no longer the favor of the day (at least until he
does something spectacular at the 17-under age level). Ellis is capable of
playing both inside and outside, although he's much better when he uses his
size and athleticism to dominant in the paint, instead of trying to play the
position he will need to play someday in the NBA, if he doesn't grow
anymore. The other two players who round out our top five are 6'5 Frosh
Justin Anderson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who has made
enormous strides and has learned how to play the game this past season while
playing for the legendary Stu Vetter, and 6'9 Frosh Dajuan Coleman
from Dewitt (Jamesville-Dewitt) NY, who is a physical specimen and has soft
hands, a nice touch, and surprising mobility for somebody his size. There
also is 6'8 Frosh Zach Peters from Plano (Prestonwood Christian) TX.
But he reclassified when he was an 8th Grade, which gives Peters an
advantage in terms of maturity and makes us wonder what the ceiling is on
his upside and potential. And what about 6'6 Frosh Kyle Anderson
from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, who has excellent ball handling and passing
skills and great court savvy for somebody his size and age? Our Texas
Editor Tim Miller tells us that 6'11 Frosh Isaiah Austin from
Mansfield (Arlington Grace Prep) TX is not yet a finished product, but
predicts that Austin will end up being the best player in the class. Our
Alabama Editor Mark Komara acknowledges that 6'4 Frosh Reggie
Ragland from Huntsville (Bob Jones) AL is a tweener in size and, as a
result, is more of a finished product than a guy with unlimited upside and
potential. However, Komara also points out that Ragland is like a man among
boys and is just flat out better than anybody he goes head-to-head against
when he plays in this age group. There are also people on the West Coast,
including our West Coast Editor Alan Utter, who think 6'6 Frosh
Xavier Johnson from Temecula (Chapparal) CA is as good as anybody in the
class. And, of course, there is Linzy Davis, who is telling anybody
who will listen that he has the "two best players on the planet" on his
15-Under AAU team in 6'7 Frosh Willie Clayton from Thomasville (H.S.)
GA and 6'10 Frosh Joseph Uchebo from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.
Time will tell who pans out and who is being over hyped. But the potential
is there for a lot of players in this class to achieve greatness. Second,
this class has an overabundance of size with a list of players who are 6'8
or bigger that includes 6'9 Frosh Dajuan Coleman from Dewitt
(Jamesville-Dewitt) NY, 6'8 Frosh Zach Peters from Plano (Prestonwood
Christian) TX, 6'11 Frosh Isaiah Austin from Mayfield (Arlington
Grace Prep) TX, 6'10 Frosh Joseph Uchebo from Durham (Mt. Zion
Christian) NC, 6'10 Frosh Ishamil Douda from Miami (Choice Academy)
FL, 6'8 Frosh Wannah Bail from Houston (The Village) TX, 6'9 Frosh
Nerlens Noel from Everett (H.S.) MA, 6'9 Frosh Stefan Jankovic
from Erie (North American Academy) PA, 6'8 Frosh Nick Baynard from
Arlington (Martin) TX, 6'10 Frosh Aaron Hammonds from Carmel (H.S.)
IN, 6'8 Frosh Jack Flournoy from Mt. Hope (Oak Hill) WA, 6'9 Frosh
Jamaree Strickland from Oakland (McClymonds) CA, 6'9 Frosh Emmanuel
Ochenje from Carbondale (Brehm Prep) IL, 6'11 Frosh Jack Taylor
from Pennington (School) NJ, 6'9 Frosh Daniel Ochufu from Wettstown
(Friends) PA, 6'9 Frosh Hanner Perea from Birmingham (Central Park
Christian) AL, 6'9 Frosh Reginald Jordan from Dallas (Samuel) TX,
6'11 Frosh Robert Upshaw from Fresno (Edison) CA, 6'8 Frosh Tyler
Bergantino from Tampa (Nature Coast) FL, 6'8 Frosh Marcus Hopper
from Flushing (Holy Cross) NY, 6'8 Frosh Shaquille Claire from
Houston (The Village) TX, 6'11 Frosh David Wrighthorn from Egg Harbor
Township (Atlantic Christian) NJ, 6'8 Frosh Jermaine Morgan from
Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 7'0 Frosh Obij Aget from Birmingham
(Central Park Christian) AL, 6'9 Frosh Jeremy King from Houston (St.
Thomas) TX, 6'8 Frosh Kyle Meyers from Alpharetta (Northview) GA,
6'10 Frosh Mohmaed Rage from Brampton (Sandalwood) ON, and 7'0 Frosh
Peter Jurkin from Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NC. In other
words, there are 28 players in this class that are 6'8 or bigger who are
ranked among the top 150 nationally. And a lot of them haven't stopped
growing yet, as they all have at least three more years of high school
remaining. Third, the class also has plenty of depth, as there are a lot
good players in the 100-200 range. We also think it's important to point
out that our Texas Editor Tim Miller thinks this is potentially the
best class ever in the Lone Star State. And our ranking illustrate his
point, as three of top 10, nine of the top 40, and 15 of the top 100-ranked
players on our list are from Texas. To find out where all of these
players are ranked this no time like the present to
subscribe
to the Members Section.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The
rosters were released yesterday for this year's
NBA Players Association Top 100
Camp,
which will be held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA on
June 18th-20th, and it looks like Dave Telep of Scout.com, who
is now in charge of inviting the players and putting together the match-ups
for this year's camp, deserves an A+ plus for his efforts. Not only does
this promise to be the best event of the entire year, but it also might just
be the best camp that we've attended since the
NBA Players Association Top 100
Camp in
2003, which featured
6'11 Dwight Howard from
Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'6 Shaun Livingston
from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'8 Glen Davis from Baton Rouge
(University Lab) LA, 6'6 J.R. Smith from Newark (St.
Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS,
7'1 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA, 6'11
LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'7
Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN, 6'8 Alfred Horford
from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, 7'0 Randolph Morris from
Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'9 D.J. White from
Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton
(Centennial) CA, 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal
Dougerty) PA, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft)
CA, 6'2 Toney Douglas from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, 6'3
Ronald Steele from Birmingham (Carroll) AL, 6'6 Malik
Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'3 Joe Crawford
from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from
Houston (Jones) TX,
6'6 Tasmin Mitchell from
Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'1 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming
Park (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Marquise Gray from Flint (Beecher) MI,
6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI, 6'3
JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC, and 6'9
Joseph Jones from Normangee (H.S.) TX. As a matter of fact, the
only player ranked among our top 25 juniors nationally who is missing from
our list of the 101 players who are expected to be in attendance at this
year's camp is 6'8 Jr Joshua Smith from Kentwood (Kent) WA. And, if
that we're enough to illustrate our point, only two of our top seven-ranked
sophomores - 6'3 Soph Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA and 6'3
Soph Trevor Lacey from Huntsville (Butler) AL - are missing from the
list, which is as follows:
6'6 Jr Harrison
Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'1 Jr Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth
(St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 Jr Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland)
OH, 6'3 Jr Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'7 Jr
DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'8 Jr Tristan
Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'2 Jr Josh Selby from
Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'1 Jr Gary Franklin from Santa Ana
(Mater Dei) CA, 6'3 Jr Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ,
6'7 Jr Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 6'1 Jr Ray
McCallum from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'8 Jr Josh
Hairston from Spotsylvania (Courtland) VA, 6'5 Jr James Bell from
Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'6 Jr Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake
Clifton) MD, 6'0 Jr Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'0
Jr Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, 6'7 Jr Roscoe Smith
from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD, 6'3 Jr J.T. Terrell from Burlington
(Cummings) NC, 6'5 Jr Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop
Loughlin) NY, 6'6 Jr Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6'8 Jr
C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'5 Jr Tyler Lamb from
Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'2 Jr Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay
Prep) NV, 6'4 Jr Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'3 Jr
Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 Jr Kendall
Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'4 Jr Andre Dawkins
from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA, 6'4 Jr Jordan McRae
from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA, 6'8 Jr Adreian Payne from Dayton
(Jefferson) OH, 6'3 Jr Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'4
Jr Crandall Head from Richton Park (Rich South) IL, 6'7 Jr Justin
Martin from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'7 Jr Tobias Harris
from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY, 6'9 Jr Dominique Ferguson
from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'5 Jr Jelan Kendrick from
Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'5 Jr Daniel Bejarano from
Phoenix (North) AZ, 6'8 Jr Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's)
MA, 6'8 Jr Will Regan from Buffalo (Nichols) NY, 6'8 Jr Terrance
Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'8 Jr Patric Young from
Jacksonville (Paxon) FL, 6'2 Jr Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern)
GA, 6'7 Jr Travis McKie from Richmond (Marshall) VA, 6'1 Jr Markel
Starks from Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, 5'8 Jr Phil Pressey
from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX, 6'7 Jr Jarrell Eddie
from Concord (Cannon School) NC, 6'8 Jr Devon Collier from Jersey
City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'9 Jr Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX,
6'11 Jr Evan Anderson from Eau Claire (North) WI, 6'8 Jr Markus
Kennedy from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'9 Jr James
Johnson from San Diego (Morse) CA, 6'8 Jr Rod Odom from Concord
(Middlesex Prep) MA, 6'9 Jr Carson Desrosiers from Lawrence (Central
Catholic) MA, 6'2 Jr Noah Cottrell from Beckley (Mountain State
University Academy) WV, 6'9 Jr Marquez "Luke" Cothron from Red
Springs (Flora MacDonald) NC, 6'1 Jr Tyler Thornton from Washington (Gonzaga)
DC, 6'7 Jr Melvin Tabb from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 5'10 Jr Juwan
Staten from Dayton (Thurgood Marshall) OH, 6'5 Jr Jason Morris
from Lakeville (Hotchkiss) CT, 6'2 Jr Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.)
NJ, 6'8 Jr Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL, 6'5 Jr Casey
Prather from Jackson (Northside) TN, 6'7 Jr Julian Washburn from
Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Jr Anthony Brown from Huntington Beach
(Ocean View) CA, 6'7 Jr Evan Smotrycz from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'4
Jr Anthony Johnson from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'8 Jr Tobi
Oyedeji from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'8 Jr Michael Cobbins from
Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX, 6'5 Jr Mychal Parker from Pantego (Terra
Ceia Christian) NC, 6'4 Jr Stacey Poole from Jacksonville (Andrew
Jackson) FL, 6'10 Jr Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 6'5 Jr
Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Jr Russell Byrd from
Ft. Wayne (Blackhawk Christian) IN, 6'4 Jr Lenzell Smith from Zion
(Zion-Benton Township) IL, 6'9 Jr Richard Solomon from Torrance
(Bishop Montgomery) CA, 6'10 Jr Dwight Powell from Bradenton
(Pendleton School) FL, 6'5 Jr Kyle Collingsworth from Provo (H.S.)
UT, 6'11 Jr Fabricio Melo from Weston (Sagemont) FL, 6'2 Jr Aaron
Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH, 6'8 Jr Jordan Latham from
Baltimore (City College) MD, 6'5 Jr Tarik Black from Memphis
(Ridgeway) TN, 6'1 Jr Ian Miller from Charlotte (United Faith
Christian Academy) NC, 6'11 Jr Baye Moussa Keita from Mouth of Wilson
(Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr C.J. Fair from Baltimore (City College) MD, 6'7
Jr Shaquille Thomas from Montclair (Academy) NJ, 6'7 Jr Desmond
Simmons from Richard (Salesian) CA, 6'10 Jr Alex Kirk from Los
Alamos (H.S.) NM, 6'8 Jr Jonathan Graham from Towson (Calvert Hall)
MD, 6'4 Jr Justin Coleman from Richmond (Henrico) VA, 6'9 Jr
Damontre Harris from Fayetteville (Trinity Christian) NC, 6'8 Soph
Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Soph LaQuinton
Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'3 Soph Austin Rivers from Winter
Park (H.S.) FL, 6'5 Soph Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park)
IL, 6'7 Soph Aaron Ross from Little Rock (Parkview) AR, 6'1 Soph
Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Soph LaBryan Nash
from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'10 Soph Rakeem Christmas from
Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA, 6'7 Jr C.J. Barksdale from Danville
(George Washington) VA, 6'8 Soph Angelo Chol from San Diego (Hoover)
CA, 6'6 Soph Michael Gbinije from Midlothian (Christ School) VA, and
6'2 Soph Shannon Scott from Alpharetta (Milton) GA.
To find out what happens at this year's
NBA
Players Association Top 100 Camp,
as well as get the HOOP SCOOP's exclusive ranking of the top players
at the camp, now is the perfect time to
subscribe
to the Members Section.
Sunday,
May 31, 2009
I'm in
the process of putting together my summer schedule and the one important
change from recent years involves the
LeBron James Skills Academy,
which will be held once again in Akron, OH on July 5th-7th, but will be
closed to NCAA Division I college coaches. However, the camp will be open
to the media and it appears it will be business as usual with regards to
games in both the afternoon and evening all three days and, as a result, our
daily updated rankings of the top players in camp for which the HOOP
SCOOP is famous should be even more important that ever. We will
publish these rankings exclusively in the Members Section and,
by the time all of the players in camp have moved to the Wolstein Center at
Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH for the
King City Classic,
which will be open to NCAA Division I college coaches on July 8th-9th, you
should have a pretty good idea of how things stack up in terms of who is
playing well and who is not. Our plan is to also attend the
King City Classic
on July
8th and then go to the
Reebok All-American Camp
in Philadelphia, PA on
July 9th-10th. Speaking of the
Reebok All-American Camp,
it looks like Gary DeCesare, who also recently took over as the head
basketball coach at Chicago (St. Rita) IL, is back in the grassroots
basketball business in a big way. If you will recall, prior to moving onto
the college level as an assistant at the University of Richmond and DePaul
University, DeCesare helped Sonny Vaccaro run the of the
adidas ABCD Camp
in Teaneck, NJ and ran
the successful New York Ravens club team program. And now he is the guy in
charge of running the
Reebok All-American Camp.
Upon the conclusion of the
Reebok All-American Camp,
our plan is to cover the
Big Shots Atlantic Slam II in Myrtle Beach, SC
on July 11th-12th and the NIKE Peach Jam
in North Augusta, SC on July 13th-15th. Then, I will go home for a couple
of days before traveling to Las Vegas, NV, where the GBOA
(Grassroots Basketball of America)Challenge of Champions
will be held on July 20th-22nd. And in conjunction with this 32-team
"national championship" type event, which will include top teams from NIKE,
adidas and Reebok, will be the inaugural GBOA Hall of Fame
Banquet that will honor grassroots players who
distinguished themselves at all levels of their careers. The list of
players to be honored, as selected by people like Bob Gibbons, Tom
Konchalski, Clark Francis, GBOA Board Members, and others,
includes the following players from the Class of 1994, 1995, and 1996:
Felipe Lopez, Antonie Walker, Stephon Marbury, Kobe
Bryant, Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer,
Kevin Garnett, Shareff Abdur-Rahim, Rafer Alston,
Raef Lefrentz, Mike Bibby, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter,
and Tim Thomas. For more information or to make a tax-deductible
donation to the GOBA
contact Gary Charles via email at
gary.charles24@yahoo.com,
via mail at 1218 Village Avenue, Baldwin,
NY 11510, or phone at 1-(917) 319-5195.
We also plan to once again cover the three big tournaments - the
Reebok Summer Championships, adidas 64 Tournament,
and Main Event
- in Las Vegas, NV on July 22nd-26th. Then, I will
spend two days at the Phoenix Desert Duel
in Phoenix, AZ on July 27th-28th and more than a week
at the AAU 17-Under Nationals and
AAU 14-Under Nationals
at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista,
FL. And finally I will turn my attention onto getting a head start on the
future with stops at the Junior Phenom Camp
in San Diego, CA on August 7th-9th and the
Elite Players Camp that will be
held at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, VA on August 13th-16th.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The
next big event on our agenda is the
Pangos All-American Camp,
which will be held this weekend at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, CA.
And heading what promises to be an all-star cast is 6'5 Jr Harrison
Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, who based on his performances earlier this
spring at the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament in Hampton, VA and
the Real Deal in the Rock in Fayetteville, AR already has a lot of
people touting him as the #1-ranked player in the Class of 2010. Our West
Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis, who also is the director of the camp,
tells us that the list of players that he expects to be in attendance at his
camp also includes 6'0 Jr Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station)
TN, 6'2 Jr Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'0 Jr
Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, 6'4 Jr T.J. Terrell from
Burlington (Cummings) NC, 6'3 Jr Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA, 6'4 Jr Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shore
Christian) VA, 6'7 Jr Travis McKie from Richmond (Marshall) VA, 6'9
Jr Marquez "Luke" Cothron from Red Springs (Flora McDonald) NC, 6'8
Jr Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'7 Jr Melvin Tabb
from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 6'2 Jr Kendall Williams from Rancho
Cucamongo (Los Osos) CA, 6'5 Jr Mychal Parker from Pantego (Terra
Ceia Christian) NC, 6'3 Jr Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr Shane Southwell from New York (Rice) NY, 6'3 Jr
Bacari Turner from Plano (West) TX, 6'2 Jr Tony Chennault from
Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'1 Jr Kyle Fuller from Moreno
Valley (Rancho Verde) CA, 6'4 Jr Allen Crabbe from Los Angeles
(Price) CA, 5'11 Jr Aaron Bright from Bellevue (H.S.) WA, 6'7 Jr
James Johnson from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA, 6'5 Soph
Samuel "P.J." Hairston from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'7 Soph C.J.
Barksdale from Danville (George Washington) VA, 6'7 Soph Ramon Eaton
from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 6'9 Soph Kevin Johnson from Gardena
(Serra) CA, 5'11 Soph Cezar Guerrero from City of Industry (Workman)
CA, 6'5 Soph Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 5'8 Soph
Stevie Taylor from Gahanna (Lincoln) OH, 6'8 Soph Nick Jacobs
from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'5 Soph Darius Nelson from
Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 5'10 Soph Jahii Carson from Phoenix
(Mountain Pointe) AZ,
6’4 Frosh Shabazz Muhammed from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman)
NV, 6’7 Frosh Winston Sheppard from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'4
Frosh Jordan Adams from Lawrenceville (Central Gwinnett) GA, and
5'10 8th
Grader Eric Cooper from Ontario, CA. The camp will begin tomorrow
with check-in, dinner, registration and distribution of gear from 2:00
PM-7:00 PM, followed by opening remarks and instruction by Dinos Trigonis
at 7:00 PM-7:15 PM, individual instruction by former New Orleans Hornets
Assistant Coach for Player Development Dave Miller from 7:15-8:30 PM,
and the first round of games from 8:30 PM-10:30 PM. Then, things will
resume on Saturday, May 30th, with breakfast, free time at the hotel, and
lunch from 8:00 AM-1:00 PM, instruction by NBA skills coach Joe Abunassar
from 1:00 PM-3:00 PM, the second round of games from 3:00 PM-5:00 PM,
dinner from 5:00 PM-6:00 PM, Recruiting Roundtable (Questions & Answers with
national scouts like Van Coleman of the Hoop Masters, Brick
Oettinger of Prep Stars, Dave Telep of scout.com,
and Clark Francis of the HOOP SCOOP) from 6:00-6:30 PM, the
third round of games at 6:30 PM-8:30 PM, and a camp party for the players at
the Westin in Long Beach, CA and a media reception at Legends Sports Bar in
Belmont Shore from 9:00 PM-Midnight. The schedule on Sunday, May 31st, will
being with breakfast from 7:30 AM-8:30 AM, the fourth round of games from
9:00 AM-10:40 AM, guest speaker EPSN's Steve Lavin from 10:40
AM-11:00 AM, announcement of All-Star Teams/Final Remarks from 11:00
AM-11:30 PM, "Cream of the Crop" Top 40 Game from 11:30-12:30 PM, "Cream of
the Crop" Top 20 Game from 12:30-1:30 PM, and departure of out-of state
campers to the airport at 1:30 PM-2:00 PM.
To find out what happens at this year's
Pangos
All-American Camp,
as well as get the HOOP SCOOP's exclusive ranking of the top players
in the tournament, now is the perfect time to
subscribe
to the Members Section.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
One of our favorite events of the entire year is the Bob
Gibbons Tournament of Champions, which will be
held this weekend in Chapel Hill, NC. And it promises to be just as good as
usual, as the list of top players that we expect to be in attendance
includes 6'1 Jr Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Jr
Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Jr Dion
Waiters from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Jr Josh Hairston from
Spotsylvania (Central) VA, 6'6'1 Jr Ray McCollum from Birmingham
(Detroit County Day) MI, 6'6 Jr Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.)
NC, 6'6 Jr Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'3
Jr Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'6 Jr J.J. Moore
from Brentwood (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Nate Lubick from Southborough (St.
Mark's) MA, 6'8 Jr Dominique Ferguson from Indianapolis (Lawrence
North) IN, 6'8 Jr Patric Young from Jacksonville (Paxson) FL, 6'1 Jr
Tyler Thornton from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'8 Jr Markus Kennedy
from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian Academy) NJ, 6'4 Jr Trey
Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'11 Jr Evan Anderson from
Eau Claire (North) WI, 6'9 Jr Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX,
5'8 Jr Daryl Traynham from from Charlotte (Vance) NC, 6'2 Jr Noel
Cottrell from Beckley (Mountain State University Academy) WV, 6'6 Jr
Terrence Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'2 Jr Isaiah
Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Jr Anthony Brown from
Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA, 6'11 Jr Fabricio Melo from Weston (Sagemont)
FL, 6'8 Jr Alasdair John Hobekirk Fraser from Scotland, 6'7 Jr
Julian Washburn from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'0 Jr K.C. Ross-Miller
from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'10 Jr Dwight Powell from
Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'9 Jr J.P. Kambola from Newark (St.
Benedict's) NJ, 6'2 Jr Tony Chennault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti)
PA, 6'3 Jr Cameron Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA,
6'5 Jr Mychal Parker from Pantego (Terra Ceia Christian) NC, 5'9 Jr
Andre Stringer from Jackson (Forest Hills) MS, 6'1 Jr Eric Atkins
from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph's) MD, 5'11 Jr Dondrecous Nelson from
Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'5 Jr Faquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ,
6'0 Jr Harold McBride from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 5'11 Jr Devon
McMillan from Uniondale (H.S.) NY, 6'3 Jr Pe'Shon Howard from
Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 Jr Lenzelle Smith from Zion
(Zion-Benton Township) IL, 6'4 Jr Avery Johnson from Huntington Beach
(Ocean View) CA, 6'7 Jr Jordan Manuel from Indianapolis (Howe) IN,
6'4 Jr Rashard Parker from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'2 Jr Nick
Kellogg from Columbus (DeSales) OH, 6'8 Jr Jalen Courtney from
Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'5 Jr Casey Prather from Jackson (Northside)
TN, 6'9 Jr Griffin McKenzie from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, 6'4 Jr
Stacy Poole from Jacksonville (Andrew Jackson) FL, 6'5 Jr Aaron Bowen
from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL, 6'8 Jr Ryan Rhoomes from Bayside (Cardozo)
NY, 6'6 Jr Alex Dragicevich from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'8
Jr Dakota Euton from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'8 Soph
Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patick) NJ, 6'8 Soph LaQuinton
Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'1 Soph Sterling Gibbs from West
Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'5 Soph Rodney Hood from Meridian (H.S.)
MS, 6'0 Soph DeVille Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS, 6'4 Soph
Kevin Ware from Conyers (Rockdale) GA, 6'5 Soph Adonis Thomas
from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'8 Soph Johnny O'Bryant from Cleveland
(Eastside) MS, 6'9 Soph Tyler Adams from Brandon (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Soph
Michael Ammons from Vicksburg (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Soph Trevor Cooney
from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, 6'0 Soph Naadir Tharpe from
Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7 Soph Percy Gibson from Detroit
(Southeastern) MI and 6'4 Soph Brandon Kearney from Detroit
(Southeastern) MI. Things will tip off in the 17-Under Division tomorrow
night at 6:30 PM at the Dean E. Smith Center and feature three sets of games
that will run through 11:00 PM. Then, on Saturday, May 23rd, the games in
pool play in the Dean E. Smith Center are staggered perfectly so that we
will get a chance to see two sets of 15-Under games at 8:30 AM and 4:45 PM,
two sets of 16-Under games at 9:45 PM and 2:15 PM, and four sets of 17-Under
games at 11:00 AM, 12:15 PM, 3:30 PM, and 6:00 PM. The first round of the
playoffs in both the 15-Under Division and the 16-Under Division will be at
8:00 PM and the first round of the playoffs in the 17-Under Division will be
held at 10:00 PM on Saturday night. And things should really get
interesting on Sunday morning when the Quarterfinals in the 17-Under
Division tip-off at 9:00 AM, followed by the semi-finals in the 15-Under
Division and the 16-Under Division at 10:30 AM, the semi-finals in the
17-Under Division at Noon, the Championship Game in the 15-Under Division at
2:30 PM, and the Championship Game in the 16-Under Division and the 17-Under
Division at 4:00 PM. The breakdown of pools in the 17-Under Division is as
follows: Pool A has the Chris Paul 3 All-Stars, Team Philly,
Illinois Wolves, and Colorado Chaos; Pool B has Team Final, Ohio
Basketball, Hoop Planet (GA), and Michigan Hurricanes; Pool C has
Grassroots Canada, Squires Richmond, Carolina Raptors, and Team Truth (GA);
Pool D has DC Assault, Southern Cal All-Stars, North Carolina Gators,
and Dallas Seawolves; Pool E has the New England Playaz, Hollis Price
Elite, Eric Gordon Central, and BBall Stars of America; Pool F has
the Playaz Basketball Club, Florida Elite, Westchester Hawks, and Team UBA
(NC); Pool G has NIKE Team Florida, Petersburg Elite, World Wide
Renegades, and Los Angeles Rage; Pool H has Team Detroit, Jackson MBA
Elite, Carolina Cobras, and Mike Miller M33M (TN); Pool I has New
Heights (NY), Dallas Heroes, Team Breakdown, and Rising Stars JG (IL);
Pool J has Team United NC, Wisconsin Playground Warriors, New Jersey
Roadrunners, and Net Gain Sports (MN); Pool K has Memphis Magic
Elite, Jackson Tigers, Georgia Hawks, and Team Takeover Canada; Pool L
has Jacksonville Lee Bulls, Houston Select, Carolina Flight, and New York
Panthers; Pool M has Atlantic Celtics, Memphis Stallions, Mid State
Magic (NC), and Baltimore Stars; Pool N has Brandon Bass Elite (TX),
Michigan Mustangs, Florida Rams, and Garner Road; Pool O has Team
Odom Team (CA), Team T.M.P. (SC), Juice All-Stars, Carolina Crusaders; and
Pool P has Nashville Celtics, North Carolina Force, SYF Players (IN),
and Houston Clippers. For more information and the complete schedule for
this year's Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions,
click onto
Bob
Gibbons.net.
To find out what happens at this year's
Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions,
as well as get the HOOP SCOOP's exclusive ranking of the top players
in the tournament, now is the perfect time to
subscribe
to the Members Section.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The
race among the top players for the #1-ranking still be appears to be up for
grabs, as 6'7 Jr Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'1
Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jr Harrison Barnes
from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'7 Jr DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop
Luers) IN, 6'8 Jr Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV,
6'2 Jr Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, and 6'11
Jr Jeremy Tyler from San Diego (H.S.) CA are all still in the hunt
for top spot in the Class of 2010. If we had to decide right now, we would
give the nod to Irving, who was absolutely sensational when we saw him at
the Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest and the Hoop Group Providence
Jam Fest last month. We also think a case can be made for Sullinger,
who totally dominated 6'8 Jr Joshua Smith from Kent (Kentwood) WA and
led his team to the win against the Boo Williams Summer League Team in the
semi-finals and the Illinois Warriors in the championship game a
week-and-a-half ago at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N' Slam All-Star
Classic in Ft. Wayne, IN. We have not seen Barnes play yet this spring,
but the word we get is that he was absolutely sensational at both the Boo
Williams Invitational Tournament and the Real Deal in the Rock
last month. Thomas gets mentioned based on the way he played when we saw
him play last winter. But we did not get enough of a look at Thomas at the
Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N' Slam All-Star Classic. And in the one
game that we did see him play in, Thomas took a lot of shots to finish with
31 points in what was a losing effort. We're also not sure what to think
about Thompson, who wasn't tough enough to stick it out while playing for
Danny Hurley at Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ. As for Knight, he has a
tendency to be too quick for his own good and we question whether he has the
mentality to be a pure point guard and whether he has the size necessary to
be a 2-guard at the highest level. We also continue to track a steady flow
of signings and commitments, which include 6'7 Jr Desmond Simmons
from Richmond (Salesian) CA making an early verbal commitment two days ago
to the University of Washington. Simmons is ranked #183 nationally in the
junior class, but appears to be exactly what the doctored ordered for
Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar, who will have to replace 6'6 Jr
Quincy Pondexter at the wing forward spot after next season. "Simmons
is like a jack-of-all-trades," says our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis.
"He's more of a slasher than a shooter. But he plays hard, gets to the
basket, rebounds, and is an excellent defender. He's not as good as
Pondexter, but Simmons' game is similar to that of Pondexter." Simmons also
promises to be an excellent complement to 6'3 Abdul Gaddy from Tacoma
(Bellarmine) WA, 6'7 Clarence Trent from Lenoir (Patterson School)
NC, 6'9 Charlie Garcia from Riverside (JC) CA, and 6'6 C.J. Wilcox
from Pleasant Grove (H.S.) UT, all of whom are already signed, sealed,
and delivered in a recruiting class that is currently ranked #15 on our list
of the Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009.
And the best still may be yet to come, if
Romar and his staff are successful at keeping 6'8 Jr Joshua Smith
from Kent (Kentwood) WA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the junior class by
the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'4 Soph Tony Wroten from Seattle
(Franklin) WA, who is ranked #2 nationally in the sophomore class by the
HOOP SCOOP, both at home. It also looks like Quinnipiac got the outside
shooter that they were looking for in 6'4 Ryan Bogdan from
Summerville (Pinewood Prep) SC. If you will recall, the Bobcats already
have 6'7 Jamee Jackson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and 5'9
David Johnson from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA both in the fold and,
now that they have filled this need, Bobcats head coach Tom Moore and
his staff can turn their attention towards signing the best two players who
are still available with the two scholarships that they still have available
in this year's recruiting class. HOOP SCOOP Associate Editor
Patrick Stanwood tells us that 6'9 DeShawn Painter from Chatham (Hargrave
Military) VA, who is ranked #74 nationally in the senior class by the
HOOP SCOOP, has picked N.C. State over Maryland and 6'9 Jr Daniel
Alexander from Dripping Springs (H.S.) TX, who has ranked #137
nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early
verbal commitment to Texas A&M. Alexander is a four-man who can step out
and shoot the lights out. But he needs to get bigger and stronger
physically in order play inside and live up to the lofty expectations that
some of our competitors have created with their ranking of this young man.
The addition of Painter moves the Wolfpack's recruiting class, which also
includes 6'7 Richard Howell from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'4
Lorenzo Brown from Roswell (Centennial) GA, 6'5 Scott Wood from
Marion (H.S.) IN, and 6'5 Josh Davis from Raleigh (Athens Drive) NC,
into a tie at #18, along with Miami-FL and Baylor, on our list of the Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009.
And, if the
Wolfpack really hit the jackpot and they also land 6'3 John Wall from
Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who is our #1-ranked 5th Year Player, then their
recruiting class will move up to #4 on our list of the Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009.
We also have six more junior college
signings to report, as 5'11 DeAndre Brown from Navarro (JC) TX has
picked Louisiana Tech, 6'5 Kevin Menner from Saddleback (JC) CA has
picked Cal State-Northridge, 6'2 Rashawn Polk from Guilford Technical
(JC) NC has picked Towson, 6'3 Adam Brown from Collin County (JC) TX
has picked the University of Houston, 6'7 Jeron Belin from Monroe (JC)
NY has picked St. Peter's, and 6'8 Phillip Thomas from Eastern Utah (JC)
UT has picked Portland State. Those first three are especially noteworthy,
because Brown averaged 17.4 ppg and 3.4 apg this past season and is ideally
suited to step in and run the show and complement 6'7 D.J Wright from
Salt Lake (JC) UT, 6'9 Kadeem Coleby from Humbler (Christian Life)
TX, and 6'5 Darius Reading from Tallahassee (Godby) FL in a
recruiting class that is now ranked #47 on our list of the Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009.
Menner, who is
a tough New York City kid and played high school basketball at Brooklyn
(Lincoln) NY, doesn't have a true position. But he put up ridiculous
numbers the last two years in the junior college ranks, as he scored 1,462
points and grabbed 451 rebounds while playing at Ventura (JC) CA and
Saddleback (JC) CA. Polk is more of a slasher than a shooter, but he
averaged 24.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 3.7 apg this past season and is versatile
enough to play multiple positions. We also have confirmed that 6'5 Soph
Mike Moore, who averaged 12.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg this past season, is
transferring from Fordham to Hofstra. He will sit out next season and then
join 6'1
Brad Kelleher from Midland (JC) TX, 5'8, Chaz Williams
from Brooklyn (Bishop Ford) NY, 6'6 David Imes from
Winchendon (School) MA, 6'2 Yves Jules from Winchendon (School) MA,
6'7 Paul Bilbo from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY, and 6'8 Halil
Kanacevic from Staten Island (Curtis) NY, all of whom are apart of a
recruiting class that is currently ranked
#42 on our list of the Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009.
Friday,
May 8, 2009
With only two of our
top 100-ranked seniors - 6'5 Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln)
NY and 6'9 DeShawn Painter from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA -
still available, most of the signings and commitments are coming from
players in the junior college ranks. The lone exception during the
last several days being 6'4 Tony Daniels from Roanoke (William Fleming)
VA and 6'0 Dee Goens from Atlanta (Marist) GA. The latter is
ideally suited to run the show and control the game from the point guard
position and the former averaged 17.2 ppg and shot 42.0 % from beyond the
3-point line this past season and has the versatility necessary to play
multiple positions. He picked Virginia Commonwealth and becomes the second in-state
player to have signed on the dotted line to play for the new regime this spring. The
other was 6'3 Darius Theus from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA and new VCU
head coach Shaka Smart and his staff still have one more scholarship
available in this year's recruiting class, which in all likelihood will go
to a pure point guard. It also looks like Illinois State had stolen
one in 6'7 Tony Lewis from Ellsworth (JC) IA. We're talking
about somebody who averaged 22.8 ppg and 11.5 rpg and is ranked #105 in the
junior college ranks by
JucoJunction.com.
However, what makes this such a good catch is the fact that Lewis is so
active on the boards and so good at scoring around the basket. Lewis
also promises to be a great complement to 6'9 Jackie Carmichael from South Kent
(Prep) CT, 6'4 Justin Clark from Independence (William Chrisman) MO,
6'7 Jon Ekey from Independence (William Chrisman) MO, 6'0 Terrence
Johnson from Chicago (North Lawndale) IL, 6'5 Zeke Upshaw from
Chicago (University) IL, and 6'1 Austin Hill from Southeastern
Illinois (JC) IL in a recruiting class that is now tied at #41, along with
Middle Tennessee State and Cal State-Fullerton, on our list of the Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009. We also have
confirmed that the University of Hawaii has landed the big man that they
were looking for this spring with the signing of 7'0 Douglas Kurtz from
Marshalltown (JC) IA, who is ranked #76 in the junior college ranks by
JucoJunction.com.
Kurtz only averaged 9.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg this past season, but he hit 67%
from the field and 85% from the free throw line and, like they say, you can't
teach somebody to be 7-feet and 250-pounds. The signing of
another big man in the junior college ranks that slipped under our radar
involves 6'11 Jon Kreft from Chipola (JC) FL, who is ranked #12 in
the junior college ranks by
JucoJunction.com
and was the starting center a team that finished ranked third in the
NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Tournament and was
ranked #1 in the nation for nine straight seasons during the regular season.
Kreft originally signed with Florida State in 2005 when he was a senior in
high school at Parkland (Marjory Stoneman
Douglas) FL. But his scholarship was rescinded due to the fact
that he was arrested on drug charges in May of 2006. Kreft also
verbally committed to UAB last fall, but later re-opened his recruitment,
which allowed Kreft to come full circle and once again cast his lot with the
Seminoles. He will join 6'4 Michael Snaer from Moreno Valley
(Rancho Verde) CA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the
HOOP SCOOP, and 6'7 Terrance Shannon from Forsyth (Mary Person) GA,
who is ranked #66 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP,
in a recruiting class that is ranked #24 on our list of the Top
Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009.
However, even more
important, the Seminoles will have even more depth than they did a year ago,
as next year's team promises to be the best team that Leonard Hamilton
has had during his 21 years as a Division I head coach. Florida
State will lose two of its top three scores in 6'2 Sr Toney Douglas
and 6'9 Sr Uche Echefu, but 7'1 Soph Solomon Alabi, 6'4 Soph
Derwin Kitchen, and 6'9 Frosh Chris Singleton were three of
the top newcomers in the league and Snaer and Kreft are expected to step in
and make the same type of immediate impact next season that the three
aforementioned player made this past year. Our Texas Editor Tim
Miller thinks 6'4 Duwan Kornegay from Ranger (JC) TX is a major
steal for Prairie View A&M. "He's a big time athlete who knows how to
defend and is a streaky outside shooter," says Miller. "And he's got
the talent necessary to walk in and be one of the best players in the league
next year." It also appears that Ole Miss head coach Andy
Kennedy got the shot blocking big man he was looking for when the Rebels
signed 6'8 DeAngelo Riley from Southwest Tennessee (JC) TN.
This is a guy who averaged 12.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 2.9 bpg, which ranked him
15th in the junior college ranks this past season. And what
about 6'6 Gilbert Clavell from Collin County (JC) TX, who was the MVP
with 19 points and eight rebounds in the NJCAA (National Junior College
Athletic Association) All-Star Game a week ago in Odessa, TX, picking Sam
Houston State? We also have confirmed 6'5 Richard Thomas from
Garden City (JC) KS to North Texas, 6'5 Michael Tyler from Pratt (JC)
KS to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6'6 Dernado Eiland from Pratt (JC)
KS to Texas Christian, 6'1 Devon Baker from Howard (JC) TX to
Northwestern State, 6'5 Freddy Obame from Monroe (JC) NY to
Maryland-Eastern Shore, and 6'3 Devon McBride from Hutchinson (JC) KS
to South Carolina State.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
It should be one of the best events that we attend all spring and summer.
We're talking about the Bill
Hensley Memorial Run 'N' Slam All-Star Classic,
which will tip-off tomorrow night at the Spiece
Fieldhouse and numerous other sites in Ft. Wayne, IN. And the 17-Under
Division appears to be absolutely loaded as the list of top players expected
to be in attendance includes 6'7 Jr DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne
(Bishop Luers) IN, 6'7 Jr Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland)
OH, 6'8 Jr Joshua Smith from Kent (Kentwood) WA, 6'1 Jr Ray
McCollum from Birmingham (Detroit County Day) MI, 6'6 Jr Jereme
Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 6'4 Jr Crandall Head from
Richton Park (Rich South) IL, 6'8 Jr Adreian Payne from Dayton
(Jefferson) OH, 6'4 Jr Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop
O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'7 Jr
Justin Martin from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'9 Jr
Dominique Ferguson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'4 Jr
Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA, 6'6 Jr
Travis McKie from Richmond (Marshall) VA, 6'11 Jr Evan Anderson
from Eau Claire (North) WI, 6'0 Jr Tony Chennault from Philadelphia
(Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'4 Jr Anthony Johnson from Chicago (Whitney
Young) IL, 6'10 Jr Leonard Meyers from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 6'3 Jr
Jordan Siebert from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, 6'5 Jr Russell Byrd
from Ft. Wayne (Blackhawk Christian) IN, 6'9 Jr Alex Guana from Eaton
Rapids (H.S.) MI, 6'4 Jr Lenzelle Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton
Township) IL, 6'8 Jr Donnie Hale from New Albany (H.S.) IN, 6'9 Jr
C.J. Aiken from Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA, 6'9 Jr
Travis Carroll from Danville (H.S.) IN, 6'11 Jr Ben Mills from
Heartland (Arrowhead) WI, 6'3 Jr Kameron Cerroni from Sussex
(Hamilton) WI, 6'3 Soph Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'5
Soph Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'1 Soph
Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'8 Soph Mike Shaw
from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, 6'8 Soph James McAdoo from Norfolk
(Christian) VA, 6'5 Soph DeAndre Henley from Chicago (De La Salle)
IL, 6'2 Soph Matt Carlino from Gilbert (Highland) AZ, 6'5 Soph
LaDontae Hinton form Lansing (Sexton) MI, 6'9 Soph Marshall Plumlee
from Arden (The Christ School) NC, 6'1 Soph Tracy Abrams from Chicago
(Mt. Carmel) IL, 6'9 Soph Amir Williams from Birmingham (Detroit
Country Day) MI, 6'8 Soph Cody Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, and
6'5 Frosh Justin Anderson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.
The breakdown of teams in the Seniors-To-Be Division is also extremely
impressive, as Pool #1 has Team Philly, R.E.A.C.H Legends, Team CBIZ,
and Boo Williams Summer League Team; Pool #2 has the Spiece Indy
Heat-Downs, Parallel 45, Iowa Barnstormers, and Milwaukee Spartans; Pool
#3 has the King James Shooting Stars, Grand Rapids Storm-Martin, D1E
Derrick Rose All-Stars, and Terry Porter Elite; Pool #4 has
Cincinnati Royals, A-One Elite, Common Bond-Hicks, and Grand Rapids Storm-Whymer;
Pool #5 has Seattle Rotary, Spiece Indy Heat-Betts, West Michigan
Lakers, and Illinois Old School; Pool #6 has the Ohio
Gators-Billings, Pal Elite, D-Harris, Full Package Athletics; Pool #7
has the Indiana Blazers, Team Velocity Red, Wisconsin Gators Elite, and
Illinois Wolves; Pool #8 has Indiana Elite-Fox, NW Ohio,
Wisconsin-Playground Warriors, Spiece ATX; Pool #9 has Florida Elite,
ACB Hoops, All Ohio Red, and Next Generation; Pool #10 has the Eric
Gordon All-Stars, Michigan Hurricanes, Wisconson Blizzard-Kellett, and
Illinois Warriors; Pool #11 has Indiana Elite One Orange, Mustang
Ballers, Michigan Hurricanes-Grady, and Full Package Athletics-White;
Pool #12 has the Spiece NW Stars, St. Louis Eagles, Martin Brothers, and
Illinois Titans; Pool #13 has The Family, Wisconsin Blizzard Schalow,
Mac-Irvin Fire, and Waterloo Wildhawks; Pool #14 has Fieldhouse Elite
Team Indiana, Spiece Mokan, Friends of Hoop, and Mean Streets; Pool #15
has the Spiece Hoosier Hoops 2010, Camp Darryl 2010, Shining Star
Sports-McFarland, and Randolph Boys Club; and Pool #16 has Indiana
Select 2010, Michigan Mustangs, Peoria Irish, and Wisconsin Force. The
first round of games in the Seniors-To-Be Division will begin at 7:30 PM and
run until Midnight tomorrow night. Every team will also get two more games
in pool play from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday. The first and second
round of the playoffs in the Gold Division will feature the top two teams
from pool play and will tip-off at 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM on Saturday night.
Then things should really get interesting on Sunday, May 3rd with the
quarterfinals at 9:30 AM, semi-finals at 12:30 PM, and championship at 3:30
PM. I also suspect that I will stick around to see the Gold Division
Championship games in the Juniors-To-Be Divisions and Sophomores To-Be
Divisions, both of which are scheduled to tip-off at 5:00 PM on Sunday, May
3rd. For a list of all of the teams and brackets in each age group and
other information about this year's Bill Hensley Memorial Run
'N' Slam All-Star Classic, click onto
Spiece Run N' Slam &
other Spiece Events.
We also want to mention that fact that this year's tournament will be played
in the memory of the late Bill Hensley, who for years was the driving
force behind this event and always will be remembered as one of the great
people in basketball.
Editor's Note: All of the highlights from this year's Bill
Hensley Memorial Run 'N' Slam All-Star Classic will be available
exclusively in the Members Section early next week. So
obviously now is the perfect time to
subscribe.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The
big story that everybody is talking about right now is the fact that 6'11 Jr
Jeremy Tyler from San Diego (H.S.) CA has decided to forego his final
year of high school and play professionally in Europe for the next two
years. Obviously this is important, because Tyler will become the first
player ever (ready or not) to skip his senior year of high school and play
professionally overseas. If Tyler turns out to be a smashing success, it
could be as dramatic a game changing trend as when Kevin Garnett
became the first player in almost 20 years to declare hardship for the NBA
Draft in 1995. If you will recall, Moses Malone in 1974, Darryl
Dawkins in 1975, and Bill Willoughby in 1976 were the only three
players to ever by-pass college and go straight from high school to the NBA
prior to when Garnett made the move in 1995 and Kobe Bryant followed
suit in 1996. However, if Tyler fails, it could send an important signal to
future players that playing overseas against men can be a tough life,
especially when you are an immature teenager who has yet to show that he can
consistently dominate against the top players at the high school level. I
just loved his quote in the New York Times when he said "Nowadays
people look to college for more off-the-court stuff versus being in the gym
and getting better. If you're really focused on getting better, you go play
pro somewhere. Pro guys will get you way better than playing against
college guys." You also can exposed a lot easier playing against pros and
this is a guy who should be ranked #1 in the junior class nationally, but
checks in at #5, because he's always been an underachiever, doesn't have a
great motor, and has a tendency to be very inconsistent and not live up to
the hype when playing against great players. We agree with Sonny Vaccaro
about Tyler having the potential to be a 10-year all-star, but feel like
Tyler is being set up to fail, because he's going to have a rude awakening
when he starts playing in Spain, which where he's rumored to be heading next
year. And, if you don't believe it, just ask 6'2 Brandon Jennings,
whose quotes in January apply perfectly to the subject at hand. "First
thing, if you're not mentally tough, you have no chance," says Jennings.
"Their passion here is unbelievable. If you get on a good team, you won't
be scoring 35 points. There will be ups and downs. If you're mentally
tough, you will succeed. I knew that with this team we had a chance of
winning the Euroleague and Italy." Not only is Tyler not mentally tough,
but he also is still just a baby when compared to the men that he's going to
playing against and, as a result, we think the chances of his coming back
and being the #1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft slim and none. As a matter of
fact, we'll be surprise if Tyler even gets off the bench during his first
year. And, it looks like Vaccaro agrees, as he's quoted saying "Tyler could
shuttle between his professional team and it's development squad for
18-year-olds. So, if Tyler who turns 18 in June, struggles early against
professional men, he will be able to play and practice with the younger
team." Tyler also does not yet have the skills, footwork, and post moves
necessary to get it done at the college level, much less professionally. In
other words, this is more about his potential and making money off the kid
as fast as possible. There are probably those who will think that whoever
is advising Tyler should be arrested for child abuse. But it's also hard to
say no when Tyler may be able to command a six-figure salary based on his
size, athleticism, and potential.
Friday,
April 17, 2009
I am
already in Pittsburgh, PA to cover the
Hoop Group's Pittsburgh Jam Fest,
which will tip off later today with games beginning at 6:15 PM at the
Peterson Events Center and numerous other sites in the Pittsburgh area.
Some of the top teams and players in the East will be in attendance and
right at the top of the list is Team Final, which is fresh off a second
place finish in the 17-Under Division at the Boo Williams Invitational
Tournament last weekend and features players like 6'8 Soph Michael
Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Jr Dion Waiters
from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'8 Jr Markus Kennedy from Cherry
Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'0 Jr Tyreek Duran Philadelphia
(Neumann-Goretti) PA, and 6'3 Soph Trevor Cooney from Hockessin
(Sanford) DE. Two other teams that we will be eye-balling a lot over the
weekend are the Eric Gordon All-Stars with 6'1 Jr Ray McCollum from
Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'9 Jr Dominique Ferguson from
Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, and 6'1 Evan Gordon from
Indianapolis (North Central) IN, and the Playaz with 6'5 Jr Fuquan Edwin
from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'7 Jr Ron Roberts from Jersey City
(St. Peter's) NJ, 6'3 Jr Cameron Ayers from Ft. Washington
(Germantown Academy) PA, 6'1 Jr Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.)
NJ, 6'3 Jr Jermaine Peart from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'6 Jr
Trevor Clemmings from Paterson (Catholic) NJ. The R.E.A.C.H. Legends
will feature 6'3 Jr Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI; the New
Jersey Roadrunners have 6'1 Jr Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St.
Patrick) NJ; the Baltimore Stars have 6'5 Jr Will Barton from
Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD; the Mass Rivals have 6'8 Jr Evan Smotrycz
from New Hampton (Prep) NH and 6'9 Jr Carson Desrosiers from
Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA; the Cleveland Basketball Club has 6'2 Jr
Noah Cottrell from Beckley (Mountain State University Academy) WV, 6'2
Jr Nick Kellogg from Columbus (DeSales) OH, and 6'7 Jr Dakota
Euton from Georgetown (Scott County) KY; and New Heights will go to war
with 6'5 Jr Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NJ,
6'8 Jr Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and 6'8 Jr
Ashton Pankey from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ. Speaking of Pinkston,
it looks like we have the scoop on our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio,
as we have a very reliable source who is now telling us that our top ranked
junior in NYC plans to follow in the footsteps of his former high school
teammate 6'3 Jr Doron Lamb and transfer from Brooklyn (Bishop
Loughlin) NY to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA next year. We also will make
sure that we see 6'10 Soph Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (North
Catholic) PA, who is the star on Team Final's 16-Under Team, play in the
16-Under Division. Pool play will begin on Friday night and run through
4:10 PM on Saturday afternoon, which is when Consolation Round Games will
begin in the 17-Under Division. There also will be Platinum and Silver
First & Second Round Games, which feature the 32 second round finishers from
pool play throughout the rest of Saturday. But, by that time, most of our
attention will be on the playoffs in the Gold Division Playoffs, which will
feature the 32 winners from each pool. First round games will begin at 5:20
PM and 6:30 PM on Saturday night, followed by second round of the Gold
Division playoffs at 7:45 PM and 9:00 PM and the Gold Division Quarterfinals
at 11:00 AM, the Gold Division semi-finals at 1:20 PM, and the Gold
Division, Platinum Division, and Silver Division Championship Games will all
be held at 3:35 PM on Sunday afternoon. For all the brackets at the
Hoop Group's Pittsburgh Jam Fest,
as well as more information about all the events that the Hoop Group will be
running this spring and summer, we encourage you to click onto
Hoop Group.
Also noteworthy is the fact that the Hoop
Group's Pittsburgh Jam Fest is the only event
in the East where a select group of games will be broadcast live on the
internet. And making this even more important is the fact Division I
college coaches are prohibited by the NCAA from attending AAU-like
tournaments this spring. For more information click onto
MaxxAthlete.com.
And, if you want to get all the
highlights, as well as a list of the top players based on performance at the
conclusion of the Hoop Group's Pittsburgh Jam Fest,
there is no
time like the present to
subscribe to the
Members Section.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Today is a slow news
day and a travel day to Las Vegas, NV to cover the
2009 Mae Fisher Easter Classic and, as a result,
now is the perfect time to publish our New York City Editor Ron
Naclerio's updated New York City Report.
These rankings can be found exclusively in the Members Section
and
include seven all All-Metro New York Teams that feature the top 35 players
in the Metropolitan area regardless of class and position, commentary about
the trends and top players, and Naclerio's ranking of the top 150 seniors,
top 126 juniors, top 100 sophomores, top 76 freshmen, top 26 8th Graders,
top 15 7th Graders, and top two 6th Graders within the five boroughs of New
York City. We also alluded to the fact that the senior class in the
city is really down, but did not specifically point out just how much better
it would have been if the Cheese Johnson, who is the father of 6'7
Noel Johnson from Fayetteville (Fayette County) GA, hadn't moved to
Atlanta, GA a number of years ago; 6'5 Omari Lawrence and 6'5 Kevin Parrom from South Kent (Prep)
CT both had not transferred from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY to South Kent
(Prep) CT last summer; and 6'0 Lamont Jones had not left New York
(Rice) NY first for Aston (American Christian) PA and then Mouth of Wilson
(Oak Hill) VA. However, we did mention that 6'4 Jr Doran Lamb,
who transferred from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY to Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA nearly a year ago, is already long gone and that an alarming number
of players for the city end up in prep school. We also didn't mention
what a fertile recruiting New York City is for Division I college coach,
junior college coach, or prep school coach who is looking to steal one
during the spring signing period. In addition to 6'5 Lance
Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, there are some other pretty good
players, like 6'2 Sean Johnson from Middle Village (Christ the King)
NY, 6'2 Russell Smith from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 6'3
Keith Spellman from Brooklyn (Jefferson) NY, 6'3 Isiah Stokley
from Jamaica (Edison) NY, 6'1 Ronald Baker from Bronx (Wings) NY, 6'3
Lamont Samuel from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, 6'4 Rasheem King
from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'6 Trevon Hamlett from Brooklyn (Bishop
Loughlin) NY, and 6'5 James Stokes from New York (Rice) NY, who are
still available.
Friday,
April 3, 2009
The
two hottest topics of conversation earlier today at the NABC (National
Association of Basketball Coaches) Convention are what a logistical
disaster the cities of Detroit and Windsor, ON are for this year's NCAA
Final Four in Detroit, MI and what a surprise it was when Nevada head coach
Mark Fox got the Georgia job last night and Washington State head
coach Tony Bennett got the Virginia job earlier this week. Now don't
get us wrong. Bennett and Fox are two of the bright up-and-coming head
coaches in the business and nobody can argue with their success, as Bennett
is 69-33 in three years at Washington State and Fox is 114-43 in four years
at Nevada. However, both are geographic misfits for the jobs that they just
landed. Fox is originally from Garden City, KS; he played college
basketball at Garden City (JC) KS in 1987-89 and Eastern New Mexico in
1989-91; and was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Washington
in 1991-93, an assistant coach at Kansas State from 1994-2000, and the
associate head coach at Nevada from 2000-04 prior to taking over as head
coach when Trent Johnson left Nevada for Stanford in 2004. Bennett
played for his Dad at Wisconsin-Green Bay from 1989-92, the Charlotte
Hornets in the NBA from 1992-95, and the Sydney Kings in the Australian
Basketball League in 1997 and worked as an assistant coach for his Dad at
Wisconsin in 1999-2003 and at Washington State in 2003-06 prior to taking
over the Cougars' program when his Dad retired in 2006. So how does
Virginia hire somebody with great Midwest and West Coast ties, but lacks any
kind of East Coast résumé, except when he played professionally for three
years with the Charlotte Hornets? And how does Georgia hire somebody who is
an excellent recruiter and has all kind of ties west of the Mississippi
river, but has never recruited in the South? The answer is Dan Parker,
who is the President of the Parker Executive Search firm that serves as a
head hunter for college presidents, athletic directors, and head coaches.
And this isn't the first time that Parker has shocked the world, as two
years ago he placed Tubby Smith at Minnesota and Billy Gillespie
at Kentucky. He also was responsible for hiring Jeff Capel at
Oklahoma, Kelvin Sampson at Indiana, John Pelphrey at
Arkansas, Craig Robinson at Oregon State, Joe Scott at Denver,
Ricardo Patton at Northern Illinois, Rod Barnes at Georgia
State, Steve Sarkisian as the head football coach at the University
of Washington, and Paul Johnson as the head football coach at Georgia
Tech, as well as athletic directors at places like Notre Dame, LSU, and
Washington. In other words, 2+2 still does equal four, except when Parker
gets involved in the hiring process for an athletic director who obviously
isn't up to the task of making one of the most important decisions of his
career or already has messed on the hire and needs to salvage the
situation. Did you know that I've had a number of Division I head coaches
tell me that they would never take a job that was offered by an athletic
director who had to hire a search firm to help complete the process? The
rationale is based on the fact that this is a sign of weakness, not being in
control of the situation, and wanting to cover your you know what in case it
turns out to be a bad hire. It also stands to reason that who gets hired
has less to do with whether the coach is ideally to suited step in and take
advantage of his recruiting contacts and knowledge of what it takes to get
it done at the school and more to do with Parker's associations and what
presidents and athlete directors he knows and/or has placed at certain
schools. As for this year's NCAA Final Four, half of the people at this
year's coaches convention are staying in Canada and it takes half-and-hour
to an hour go cross the bridge and go throw customs. The other half are
located about 15 minutes West of downtown in Dearborn, MI and nobody seems
to be able to figure out the lay of land, especially when it comes to
getting around in downtown Detroit, MI, which is where the Convention
headquarters are located and tomorrow's games will be played. The fact that
the weather does not come close to equaling what it was last year in San
Antonio, TX and two years ago in Atlanta, GA and downtown Detroit has more
than lived up to its reputation as one of the most rundown and depressed
cities in America reinforces this point even further. Obviously selling
70,000-plus tickets for tomorrow and Monday's game was the most important
thing when it came to deciding that the 71st NCAA Final Four should be
played in Detroit, MI. And to put this even further into perspective, most
of the coaches that we've talked with think this is the worst set-up for the
NCAA Final Four since the one in St. Petersburg, FL in 1999 and not too far
behind the NCAA Final Fours that were played in Minneapolis, MN in 1992 and
2001. However, on the more positive side, everybody is looking forward
to the future NCAA Final Fours in Indianapolis, IN in 2010, Houston, TX in
2011, New Orleans, LA in 2012, Atlanta, GA in 2013, Dallas, TX in 2014,
Indianapolis, IN in 2015, and Houston, TX in 2016, all of which will be held
in much warmer climates and in cities that are set up much better
logistically.
Monday,
March 30, 2009
Forget about hitting a home run. Hiring Memphis's John Calipari as
the next head coach at the University of Kentucky is like hitting a grand
slam. It's like hiring Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky in
1989 and at the University of Louisville in 2001 and the UK administration
deserves nothing less than an "A+" for moving so quickly and decisively
after University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan turned them down
last Friday. It's not official yet, but our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman
tells us that Calipari has rejected a counter offer from the University of
Memphis, which means they are now negotiating the terms of the contract and
that press conference sooner than later is imminent. And this comes as no
surprise to us, as we've been telling you for months that Calipari is the
ideal choice for a number of reasons. First, he's one of the top head
coaches in college basketball today, as is evident by the fact that he is
ranked #5 on our List of the Top Head Coaches, behind Louisville's
Rick Pitino, North Carolina's Roy Williams, Duke's Mike
Krzyzewski, and Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, and ahead of Florida's
Billy Donovan, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, UCLA's Ben
Howland, Kansas' Bill Self, West Virginia's Bobby Huggins,
Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon, et al.
Second, Calipari is second to none when it comes to building a program from
the ground up. If you will recall, Calipari inherited a team at the
University of Massachusetts that was 10-17 in 1987-88 and guided the
Minutemen all the way to the NCAA Final Four a 1996. He also took over a
program at Memphis that was 15-16 during the 1999-2000 season and
transformed it into the most successful program in college basketball during
the time last eight years. The Tigers played for the NCAA Championship a
year ago, were in the Eight Eight in both 2006 and 2007, and won 33 games
and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in what was supposed to have been a
rebuilding year this year. Third, Calipari is the best there is a
recruiter, as is evident the fact that Memphis currently has the #2-ranked
recruiting class in the nation on our list of the
Top Recruiting
Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009. And making the story
even more interesting is the fact that 6'10 DeMarcus Cousins from
Mobile (LeFlore) AL, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the
HOOP SCOOP and verbally committed to the Tigers several weeks ago, is
free and clear to follow Calipari to Kentucky. We also suspect that 6'6
Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'9 William Coleman
from Miami-Dade (JC) FL, 6'4 Nolan Dennis from Richland (Richland
Hills) TX and 6'6 Darnell Dodson from Miami-Dade (JC) FL, who are the
other members of Memphis' current recruiting class, will all be able to get
out of the National Letters-of-Intent that they signed with Tigers last
fall. As a matter of fact, we know that Dennis has a clause in his contract
that will make the National Letter-of-Intent null-and-void, if the coach
leaves. So we assume that this also is the case with Henry, Coleman and
Dodson, if they too decide to follow Calipari to Kentucky. And don't forget
about 6'3 John Wall from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who is the
#1-ranked 5th Year Player in the nation and has Memphis, Baylor, N.C. State,
Kansas, Miami-FL, and Duke still on his list; 6'7 Jr C.J. Leslie from
Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who recently reneged on N.C. State and now has
Memphis right at the top of his list; and 6'8 Soph Michael Gilchrist
from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is the best player in the nation
regardless of class and is believed to be a near lock to play for John
Calipari. So, with 6'10 Daniel Orton from Oklahoma City (Bishop
McGuiness) OK, who signed with the Wildcats last fall; 6'8 Soph Patrick
Patterson and 6'4 Jr Jodie Meeks both likely to return, and at
least some of the players mentioned above (Cousins, Coleman, Dennis, Dodson,
and Wall) likely to follow in Calipari's footsteps, the Wildcats could
easily be the best team in the Southeastern Conference a year from now. And
the future should be even better, as Calipari plans to bring his entire
coaching staff with him. Not only are Josh Pastner and Orlando
Antigua two of the bright up-and-coming guys in the business, but
John Robic has head coaching experience at Youngstown State. And how
about the fact that it is being reported that Calipari is going to get a
contract worth over $5 million per year? Not only will that make Calipari
by-far-and-away the highest paid head coach in the history of the game
(currently Florida's Billy Donovan is the highest at $3.5 million per
year), but it will be almost double what Calipari made when he took over as
the head coach and Executive Vice-President of Basketball Operations of the
New Jersey Nets in 1996 when he got a five year contract worth $15.5
million. We also understand that Calipari is pushing UTEP head coach
Tony Barbee, who is a former assistant coach at Memphis, as his
successor. However, Sam Albano, who is a television producer in New
York City and a close friend of John Calipari, tells us that USC's
Tim Floyd will become the next head coach of the Memphis Tigers, which
means they are replacing Calipari with another one of the best recruiters
and hardest working guys in the game. Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman
also provides us with another great name for the Memphis job, which is
Missouri's Mike Anderson, who is currently one of the hottest guys in
the business after the Tigers advanced into the Sweet 16 of this year's NCAA
Tournament. And don't forget about the fact that Xavier head coach Sean
Miller is one of Calipari's cousins.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Look
for the official announcement to come tomorrow afternoon. We're talking
about the fact that the boosters have already put up the $6 million
necessary to buy out University of Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie
and, as a result, it's a done deal that Gillispie tenure as the boss of the
Wildcats can now be measured in hours, instead of days, weeks, months, or
years. And that should finally get a lot of the other dominos falling.
We've been hearing all week that Florida head coach Billy Donovan
definitely has interest in the Kentucky job. But we also suspect that it
will be awfully tough for Donovan to bail out on Gators athletic director
Jeremy Foley, who has really gone to bat for Donovan a number of times,
including two years ago when he took for the Orlando Magic job, but then
backed out a couple of days later and returned to Florida. If you will
recall, at the time Foley gave Donovan a six-year contract worth $3.5
million per year. So the reports about Donovan making a move earlier today
to take himself out of the running for the Kentucky job would make perfect
sense. However, we also have other sources that we deem to be reliable that
tell us that it's a done deal with regards to Donovan getting the Kentucky
job, which would also open the door for Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony
Grant to replace Donovan at Florida, Missouri head coach Mike
Anderson to get Alabama, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton
get Georgia, Kansas State head coach Frank Martin to get Florida
State, and Kansas State associate head coach Dalonta Hill to replace
Martin as the head coach of the Wildcats. We also have other sources who
think Calipari is the #1 guy on Kentucky's list and we've heard that a
seven-year $28 million contract will be on the table. And, if this turns
out to be correct, then Hamilton will be right at the top of the list of
candidates to replace Calipari at Memphis and Martin could still end up as
the next head coach at Florida State. We also continue to hear Oklahoma
State head coach Travis Ford's name being mentioned as the most
viable option, if the Wildcats can't get either Donovan or Calipari. And
Ford, who played at the University of Kentucky during the Rick Pitino
era, has more head coaching experience than you might think. Did you know
that Ford started his coaching career at Campbellsville College, where in
three years his teams posted a 67-31 record and he was named the NAIA
Mid-South Coach-of-the-Year in 1999? Ford's teams also posted a 61-80
record during his five years at Eastern Kentucky, including a 22-9 season
and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament during his final year in 2005.
Ford also had a 62-35 record during his three years at Massachusetts and has
done an impressive job at Oklahoma State during the last year, as the
Cowboys posted a 23-12 record and beat Tennessee to advance into the second
round of this year's NCAA Tournament. Ford also has proven that he can
recruit with the best of them at both Massachusetts and Oklahoma State.
Remember, the Cowboys currently have the #4-ranked recruiting class, which
currently includes 6'4
Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Karron Johnson
from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Ray Penn from Richmond (Ft. Bend
Travis) TX, 6'1 Reger Dowell from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'11
Torin Walker from Columbus (Northside) GA, 6'2
Fred Gulley from
Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, and 6'10 Jarred Shaw from Dallas (Carter) TX,
on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes
To-Date for the Class of 2009.
And, if Ford gets the job, you can bet that he will bring Butch Pierre,
who is ranked #9 on our list of the top assistant coaches and is clearly in
the same class as Donvan's and Calipari's top assistants. We're talking
about Florida's Larry Shyatt, who is ranked #1 on our list of the top
assistant coaches and Memphis' Josh Pastner, who is ranked #5 on our
list of the top assistant coaches. The other big story right now involves
all of the players who are reneging on their verbal commitments. Earlier
today 6'5 James Lee from Hampton (Bethel) VA backed out of his
commitment to Liberty and yesterday 6'6 Jr Chanse Creekmur from
Marshalltown (H.S.) IA backed out of his early verbal commitment to the
University of Iowa and 6'0 Lamont Jones from Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA backed out of his commitment to Virginia Tech. And this isn't the
first time that Jones has changed his mind. If you will recall, Jones
verbally committed to Louisville when he was a sophomore in high school at
New York (Rice) NY, but then changed his mind a year ago when he was a
junior at Aston (American Christian) PA. However, Jones still has a long
way to go if he wants to break Nate Miles' record for changing his
mind and making the most stops during his career. If you will recall,
Miles, who is now at Southern Idaho (JC) ID and is the subject of potential
recruiting violations by the University of Connecticut due to his
association with an agent, originally verbally committed to Xavier when he
was a sophomore in high school. But then changed his mind and picked the
Huskies when he was a junior. However, what really puts Miles over the top
is list of high school/prep schools that are now in his rear view mirror
that includes Toledo (Waite) OH, Toledo (Libbey) OH, Mouth of Wilson (Oak
Hill) VA, Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX,
Humble (Christian Life) TX, Cleveland (Heritage School) TX, and Lenoir
(Patterson School) CT. In other words, we're talking about somebody who
attended eight different high schools/prep schools, has already picked two
colleges, and is now in the junior college ranks.
Friday,
March 20, 2009
It was
supposed be just 400 names. However, upon completion of our
Ranking of the Top Players
Nationally in the Class of 2011,
which was published exclusively in the Members Section
yesterday, we find that our list now includes the top 600 players in the
sophomore class nationally all ranked in order. And, with the spring and
summer just around the corner, the timing couldn't be any better as college
coaches get ready to turn the heat up on what promises to be the next great
class in high school basketball. It's also one of the more refreshing
classes to come down the pike in a long time, because a lot of the elite
players - i.e. 6'8 Soph Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St.
Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Soph Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'3
Soph Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, and 6'3 Soph Trevor
Lacey from Huntsville (Butler) AL - appear to be well grounded, have
strong parental support, and have not been in a great big rush to make an
early verbal commitment to a four-year Division I college or
university. And, to illustrate this point even further, when we look back at
our ranking of the Top
700 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010,
which was published over 16 months ago on November 6, 2007, we find that
eight of the HOOP SCOOP's top 10-ranked sophomores and 24 of the
HOOP SCOOP's top 100-ranked sophomores were already verbally committed.
In contrast, four months further into their sophomore year, we find that
only two of the top-10 ranked sophomores - 6'3 Soph Austin Rivers
from Winter Park (H.S.) FL to Florida and 6'7 Soph Aaron Ross from
Little Rock (Parkview) AR to Arkansas - and only 10 of the top-100 ranked
sophomores - 6'3 Soph Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL to
Florida, 6'7 Soph Aaron Ross from Little Rock (Parkview) AR to
Arkansas, 6'2 Soph Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX to Texas
A&M, 6'1 Soph Myck Kabango from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ to Texas
6'7 Soph Chane Behanan from Cincinnati (Aiken) OH to Cincinnati, 6'2
Soph Matt Carlino from Gilbert (Highland) AZ to Indiana, 6'3 Soph
John Issac from Leesville (Pickering) LA to LSU, 6'5 Soph Ryan Taylor
from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN to Louisville, 6'10 Soph Michael
Chandler from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN to Louisville, and 6'1
Soph Tracy Abrams from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL to Illinois - are
already off the board. And, with the exception of Kabango and Carlino, they
all have picked a school right in their backyard or within the state where
they live. We also are extremely impressed with the depth and versatility
of the class and state's like Mississippi and South Carolina appear to be
off the hook with great talent. As a matter of fact, a quick look at our
ranking of the top 40 players in this class shows that Mississippi with 6'8
Soph LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'0 Soph Marquavius
"Deville" Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS, and 6'5 Soph Rodney Hood
from Meridian (H.S.) MS; North Carolina with 6'5 Soph P.J. Hairston
from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 5'11 Soph Marquis "Jerrell" Rankin from
Charlotte (Vance) NC, 6'3 Soph Quddus Bello from High Point
(Westchester Academy) NC, and 6'5 Soph Tony Kimbro from Arden (The
Christ School) NC; and California with 6'9 Soph Kevin Johnson from
Garden (Serra) CA, 6'7 Soph Ramone Eaton from Sacramento (Sheldon)
CA, 6'8 Soph Angelo Chol from San Diego (Hoover) CA, and 5'11 Soph
Cezar Guerrero from City of Industry (Workman) CA all have four players
each ranked among the top 40 sophomores nationally. However, it's the star
power that really makes this a great class. Did you know that our
HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams,
which were published on
January 2nd and included the top 100 players nationally regardless of class
and position, featured four sophomores -
6'8 Soph Michael
Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Soph Tony Wroten
from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'8 Soph LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah)
MS, and 6'3 Soph Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL - among the
top 10 players nationally? And, when we dig a little deeper, we also find
that 10 of the top 55-ranked players on this list are sophomores and 15 of
the top 100-ranked players on our list
are
sophomores. In other words, the top sophomores in the nation are every bit
as good as the top juniors and seniors are right now and they don't appear
to be nearly as jaded and corrupted by the process as their counterparts are
in the classes ahead of them.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The race for the #1 spot in our Ranking
of the Top 50 Head Coaches in the College Game Today,
which can found by exclusively in the
Members Section in our Exclusive Ranking
of the Top Coaches in the Game Today, really is
almost too close to call among the top five coaches on the list
(Louisville's Rick Pitino, North Carolina's Roy Williams,
Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, and
Memphis' John Calipari). However, based on the way the Cardinals are
playing right now and the fact that it looks like Louisville is the team to
beat in this year's NCAA Tournament, Pitino gets the nod. And Williams gets
the nod over Krzyzewski due to the fact that the Tar Heels, not the Blue
Devils, have been arguably the best team in both the country and the
Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area since Williams took over the North Carolina
program six years ago. And Krzyzewski gets the nod over Calhoun, despite
the fact that Calhoun owns Krzyzewski in the NCAA Final Four, due to the
fact that it's hard to beat somebody with three National Championships and
10 NCAA Final Fours on his résumé. As for Calipari, he continues to come on
like gangbusters, as no head coach in college basketball has a better record
during the last eight years than this guy. The second five with Florida's
Billy Donovan, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, UCLA's Ben
Howland, Kansas' Bill Self, and West Virginia's Bobby Huggins
is equally impressive, as the top 10 active head coaches collectively have
been to 37 NCAA Final Four's and won 11 National Championships. And, if you
add Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, who is currently ranked #11, to this
list, suddenly the number becomes 40 NCAA Final Four appearances and 12
National Championships. We also think it's interesting to point out that
only two of the top 18-ranked head coaches have not guided their teams to
the NCAA Final Four. But Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon checks in at #12
due to the fact that he already has won an average of 26.6 games per year
during his six years as a head coach and his team is one of the favorites to
win this year's NCAA Tournament and Wisconsin's Bo Ryan checks in at
#13 due to the fact he's won big every place he's been, including
UW-Platteville, where his teams won four NCAA Division III Championships in
1991, 1995, 1998, and 1999. When putting together this list, what a head
coach has accomplished over his entire career is very important, but it also
helps to be hot right now and, as a result, we really don't know what to do
with Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus. Remember, Majerus is
second to none as a game tactician, but he has not been able to duplicate
what he did at the University of Utah during the 1990's due to off-and-on
health problems and several retirements. Add the fact that there are rumors
that Majerus might step down at the end of this season and we decided to
take him off the list. But we do so knowing that we may add him back and
rank him pretty high a year from now, if everything falls together with his
young team the way we suspect it might a year from now. We also are
extremely impressed with the amount of potential there is among the top
coaches on our list of those who are in the Middle of Their
Career and Have the Potential to Move Onto Our List of the Top 50 Head
Coaches in the Game Today. And right at the
top of the list is LSU's Trent Johnson, who stepped in and turned the
Tigers' program around in a hurry this season. Next is New Mexico's
Steve Alford, who appears to be perfectly positioned to make a major
move a year from now due to the fact he has several pros waiting in the
wings and in this year's recruiting class. It also only should be just a
matter of time before guys like Baylor's Scott Drew, Oklahoma State's
Travis Ford, Dayton's Brian Gregory, Seton Hall's Bobby
Gonzalez, and St. Mary's Randy Bennett make a major jump into our
Ranking of the Top 50 Head Coaches in the College Game Today.
Our Ranking of the Top 20 Up-and Coming Head Coaches in the
College Game Today is equally impressive, as
Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony Grant, Purdue's Matt Painter,
Marquette's Buzz Williams, Butler's Brad Stevens, and Utah's
Jim Boylen are not only some of the bright up-and-coming stars in the
business, but their team's were all included in this year's NCAA Field of 65
that was announced earlier this week. And Providence's Keno Davis,
Nevada's Mark Fox, Miami-FL's Frank Haith, Kansas State's
Frank Martin were also knocking on the door, while Mississippi's Andy
Kennedy is waiting for next year when he'll have a healthy team and
Oregon State's Craig Robinson has done a great job of stockpiling
talent during his first season as the head coach of the Beavers. Our
Ranking of the 100 Assistant Coaches in the College Game Today
is one of the hardest things that we do all year, especially in light of the
fact that a lot of the top guys (i.e. Florida's Larry Shyatt and
Kansas' Joe Dooley aren't interested in moving, unless they can get a
really good head coaching job. As a matter of fact, only five of our top
25-ranked assistants from a year ago (Derek Kellogg, Ray McCallum,
John Groce, Jeff Meyer, and Johnny Dawkins) made a move
and, as a result, it's very difficult to do make many changes to this list.
However, we did sneak Oklahoma State's Butch Pierre, who was out of a
job when we did the list a year ago, back in at #9; we moved West Virginia's
Larry Harrison, who has previous head coaching experience at Hartford
and was too low on our list a year ago, up to #12; we moved Marquette's
Tony Benford, who played a key role in helping land the Golden Eagles'
#3-ranked recruiting; up to #14; we inserted California's Jay John,
who previously was the #1-ranked assistant coach in the nation seven years
ago when he was the University of Arizona and also has head coaching
experience at Oregon State, at #22; and we moved up Syracuse's Bernie
Fine, who has been Jim Boeheim's right hand man and has been one
of the unsung heroes in the Syracuse program for over 30 years. We also
moved Saint Louis' Porter Moser up #29, Arkansas' Tom Ostrom
up #30, Villanova's Pat Chambers up #31, Minnesota's Vince Taylor
up to #42, Central Florida's Steve DeMeo up to #46, Miami-FL's
Jorge Fernandez up to #51, Baylor's Matt Driscoll up to #52, and
we expanded the list from 70 to 100 names this year. We also took
Virginia's Bill Courtney name off the list due to the fact the
Virginia coaching staff got fired earlier this week. But we suspect
Courtney will be back on the list in a year, because he's one of the best
there is at recruiting in the Washington, DC area. And, if you don't
believe it, just ask George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga, who went
to the NCAA Final Four three years ago with a team that Courtney played a
key role in helping recruit. Our Ranking of the Top 50
Assistant Coaches at the Mid-To-Low Division I Level
features three guys (Virginia Commonwealth's Tony Pujol,
Illinois-Chicago's Tracy Dildy, and IUPUI's Todd Howard) in
the top five who in all likelihood will be the next head coach at their
respective school when their boss finally decides to make the move onto to
bigger and better things. And Long Beach State's Eric Brown and
Bowling Green's LaMonta Stone, who are the other two guys ranked in
our top five, are second to none as recruiters and, as a result, will likely
be back coaching at the big time level sooner than later. Our
Ranking of the Top 20 People Who are in an Administrative Position, like
Director of Basketball Operations, Administrative Assistant, or Video
Coordinator is the most difficult list we do
due to the fact that these guys not only are hidden behind the scenes, but
also often don't have the name recognition necessary to help advance their
career. However, we can't say that about the top three guys on our list
(Michigan's Jeff Meyer, Ohio State's Dan Peters, and
Kentucky's Alvin Brooks) all of whom have already established their
credentials while working at the highest level. Editor's Note:
To get the complete list, now is a great time to
subscribe to the Members Section.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Earlier today we published Allen Rubin's
Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report
exclusively in the Members Section and it includes six
All-Area Teams that feature the 30 players in the Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania/South Jersey area regardless of class and position, some
interesting comments by yours truly about the top players in each class, and
Rubin's ranking of the top 487 seniors, 338 juniors, 229 sophomores, 114
freshmen, 49 8th Graders, 14 7th Graders, and 19 6th Graders. Yes, that's
1,250 names, which means that his list has fewer names than the Philadelphia
phonebook, but more than enough names to still be totally out of control.
We also found it very interesting that Rubin thinks the next great class in
his area will be the Class of 2011. And it would be even better if 6'8 Soph
Michael Gilchrist, who originally is from Somerdale, NJ, had not
decided to attend high school two years ago at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.
If you will recall, Gilchrist is our #1-ranked player nationally in the
sophomore class, ahead of 6'3 Soph Tony Wroten from Seattle
(Garfield) WA, 6'8 Soph LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'3
Soph Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Soph Trevor
Lacey from Huntsville (Butler) AL, 6'5 Soph Wayne Blackshear from
Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'7 Soph Aaron Ross from Little Rock
(Parkview) AR, 6'9 Soph Chris Coleman from Buffalo (Burgard) NY, 6'8
Soph Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, and 6'8 Soph James
McAdoo from Norfolk (Christian) VA, who are the top 10-ranked players on
our
List of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2011
that will be published either late this week or early next week. Gilchrist
also gets our vote as the #1-ranked player in the nation regardless of class
after he scored 30 or more points on three of the six occasions that we saw
him play this winter. And making this even more impressive is the fact that
Gilchrist doesn't get the ball nearly as much as he should inside. Instead,
a lot of his points are hustle points, as he almost always is one of the
first players down the court on the fast break and he has a knack for being
in the right place at the right time to get the offensive rebound. He's
also a tremendous competitor, a fabulous rebounder, and is versatile enough
to play both inside and outside, which is where he was playing when he was
the best player last summer at the LeBron James Skills Academy
in Akron, OH. Gilchrist also is a first class person and an excellent
student, as is evident by the fact that has a 3.6 gpa in the classroom. He
also plays for one of the top high school coaches in the nation in Kevin
Boyle, he may grow several more inches, and is young for his class,
which means that his upside and potential are off the chart. Everybody
assumes that Memphis is the heavy favorite, but Rutgers, Connecticut,
Villanova, and Virginia make it an interesting top five. Rubin also reminds
us that Philadelphia is a city that has a history of producing great guards
and that great big men, like Wilt Chamberlain, Ray Scott,
Jim Williams, Jim Washington, Rasheed Wallace, Jay
Lawson, Marc Jackson, 6'10 Aaric Murray from Concordville
(Glen Mills) PA, and 6'9 Soph Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia
(North Catholic) PA, are few and far between. Those last two are especially
important, because Murray, who signed with La Salle last fall and is the
best big man to come out the city in years, and Christmas, who is already a
monster inside with his ability to block shots, rebound, and score from
15-feet and in, both have an incredible amount of upside and potential due
to the fact they've both only been playing basketball for three or four
years.
Editor's Note: Now is a great time to
subscribe to the Members Section!
Not only did we publish our
Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey
Report earlier today, but our List of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2011
(Sophomores) and our Exclusive
Ranking of the Top Coaches in the Game Today are both due out
within the next week.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
It looks like it will be one of the final nails in the coffin of Billy
Gillispie's short and less than spectacular tenure as the head coach of
the University of Kentucky. We're talking about the Wildcats loss 90-85
earlier tonight to a University of Georgia team that lost it's coach over a
month ago when Dennis Felton got fired, is now 12-18 overall and 3-12
in the league, and has only won two road games in the league in the last two
years. And, it's not like the Wildcats didn't have anything to play for, as
a win against the Bulldogs earlier tonight and a win on Saturday at the
University of Florida probably would have assured Kentucky a spot in this
year's NCAA Tournament. Instead, the Wildcats now appear to be destined
not to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years. Not
only are the fans fit to be tied, but the the feeding frenzy now includes
former University of Kentucky players, like Mike Casey, who earlier
this week called for Gillispie to be fired. In other words, it doesn't look
like it's turning out to be a very happy marriage, as the media and
Gillispie don't see eye-to-eye, the fans like him less, and the word on the
street is that Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson, who are the
two players that Gillispie has built the program around, will likely forgo
the rest of their college eligible and enter the NBA Draft this spring. And
other transfers also appear to be eminent. However, the dirty little secret
that most Wildcats' fans haven't caught onto yet is that Gillispie's
recruiting appears to be even worse. There is no question that 6'10
Daniel Orton from Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuiness) OK, who is ranked #25
nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a physical
specimen inside, is exactly what the doctor ordered to replace Patterson in
the middle next year. And 6'8 Jr Matt Pilgrim, who is sitting out
this year after transferring from Hampton, is good enough to step in and
fill the bill next year at power forward. However, 6'7 Jonathan Hood
from Madisonville (North Hopkins) KY, who is ranked #127 nationally in the
senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, promises to be nothing more than a
good role player, and 6'0 G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX
doesn't have the strength, basketball IQ, and the point guard mentality
necessary to step in and be the quick fix the the Wildcats need at point
guard next year. Thus, explains why we have Kentucky's recruiting class
tied at #39, along with Baylor, on our list of the Top Recruiting
Classes To-Date for the Class of 2009.
In contrast, Rivals.com had Hood ranked #32 nationally in the senior
class and the Wildcats' recruiting class ranked #13 last fall and the latest
rankings for Scout.com have Hood ranked as the #8 wing forward in the
nation and their recruiting class #13 overall. And this is important,
because it's obvious that the rookies in our business don't have the
perspective necessary to know whether they're looking at the next J.P.
Blevins, Josh Carrier, or Michael Porter or the Rex
Chapman (Hood actually falls someplace in-between) and, as a result,
have clearly set the University of Kentucky coaching staff up to fail due to
the fact that they've created such unrealistic expectations. And, if you
don't believe me, just go ask all of our competitors who have been in this
business 25 or 30 years. There also are a lot of major questions about the
five early commitments that Wildcats have received from 6'9 Jr Dominique
Ferguson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'0 Jr K.C.
Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'8 Jr Dakota Euton
from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'8 Soph Vinny Zollo from
Winchester (Clark County) KY, and 6'4 Frosh Michael Avery from Encino
(Crespi) CA. Those last three all project as mid-major players and, as a
result, it's doubtful that the next regime will honor these commitments.
Ross-Miller isn't probably as good as the original hype, but he does know
how to run a team and is good enough to step in and solve Kentucky's point
guard problems. The only problem is that Ross-Miller will arrive in
year-four of the Gillispie era and the smart money now appears to be on the
current Wildcats head coach not surviving until year-three. Ferguson has
the potential to be a great player, but right now he's not even the best
player on his high school team, as he spends too much time out on the
perimeter and is much too passive inside. So, with all this in mind,
suddenly Tubby Smith's recruiting when he was at the University of
Kentucky looks a lot better than it did at the time. Remember, Smith was
the one who recruited both Meeks and Patterson and several sources have
since confirmed that Smith received verbal commitments from both Patterson
and 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, who instead signed with
Florida and this past winter transferred to the University of Texas, the
very day he decided to take the University of Minnesota job. So, unless
Gillispie can pull a rabbit out of his hat or the Wildcats can surprise
everybody and do what Georgia did a year ago in the Southeastern Conference
Tournament, the real question is who will be the next head coach at the
University of Kentucky? We would be surprised if Florida head coach
Billy Donovan takes it. But, then again, Roy Williams turned
down North Carolina and remained at Kansas for three more years prior to
becoming the head coach of the Tar Heels in the spring of 2003. We'd also
be surprised if they Tubby Smith want to come back. But right now
he's looking pretty good to Wildcats fans who have chanted his name on more
than one occasion when the home team wasn't playing well this winter in Rupp
Arena. Former Kentucky players like Oklahoma State's Travis Ford and
Arkansas' John Pelphrey or local favorite and current head coach
South Carolina Darrin Horn aren't ready to make this type of move
just yet. So the obvious choice has to be Memphis head coach John
Calipari. Not only has he guided the Tigers to the best record in
college basketball during the eight last years (224-43 with a 83.9% through
March 1st), but he also already has a pre-existing rivalry going with
Louisville's Rick Pitino and also is clearly one of the best
recruiters in the nation. Hire Calipari and 6'8 Soph Michael Gilchrist
from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is the best player in the nation right
now regardless of class and is believed to be a near lock for Memphis, will
be sure to follow.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The
longer it goes the more interesting the recruiting scenario becomes for 6'10
DeMarcus Cousins from Mobile (LeFlore) FL, who is ranked #4
nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the second
highest ranked senior still available. If you will recall, Cousins reneged
on his verbal commitment to UAB when the Blazers wouldn't let him add an
addendum last fall that would let him out of his National Letter-of-Intent
if Mike Davis left for another head coaching job this spring. The
final five for Cousins currently include Washington, N.C. State, Memphis,
Rice, and Kansas State. But, if Davis gets a head coaching job this spring,
"it could change things," says LeFlore High School head coach Otis
Hughley. "But I don't think he'd follow Davis to the University of
Alabama. Right now he needs to get away and get a fresh start." Hughley
also mentions the fact that former Sacramento Kings and New Mexico State
head coach Reggie Theus will be in the mix if he gets another head
coaching job at the high Division I college level this spring. "Theus not
only did a remarkable job of turning the New Mexico State program around in
a hurry, but he also has playing and head coaching experience at both the
college and professional levels. And that will be something we look at when
DeMarcus makes his decision." As a player, Theus was one of the stars on
Jerry Tarkanian's first NCAA Final Four team in 1977 and he is only one
of seven players in NBA history, along with John Havlicek, Oscar
Robertson, John Stockton, Gary Payton, Clyde Drexler,
and Jerry West, to score at least 19,000 points and dish out more
than 6,000 assists during his career. As a coach, Theus got a taste of what
it's like to get to the NCAA Final Four in 2005 while working as an
assistant coach at the University of Louisville for Rick Pitino and
then transformed a New Mexico State program that had gone 6-24 the year
before he arrived into a 25-9 team that won the Western Athletic Conference
Tournament and advanced into the NCAA Tournament during his second year as
head coach of the Aggies in 2006-07. Theus also had a 38-44 record as head
coach of the Sacramento Kings a year ago prior to going 6-18 and getting
fired earlier this season. And Cousins doesn't appear to be the only player
that has an interest in playing for this rising star in the coaching
profession. Did you know that Theus was recently seen by our West Coast
Editor Dinos Trigonis at the high school game between Los Angeles
(Westchester) CA and Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA on Friday, February 6th? Did
you also know that 6'6 Solomon Hill from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA did
not sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent with USC after he reneged on
the University of Arizona last fall? And making the story even more
interesting is the fact Hill, who is currently ranked #35 nationally in the
senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a prolific scorer, great
rebounder, and excellent passer, just like Theus was when he was a player.
Obviously for this to happen, Hill will have to renege on the Trojans. But,
if all these dominos start to fall, remember where you heard it first. We
also understand that 6'5 Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY
will make his college decision on Wednesday, April 15th, which is the first
day of the Spring Signing Period this year. The list includes
Maryland, St. John's, Kansas, UCLA, and Wake Forest. However, the smart
money is on the first two, because the Red Storm and the Terrapins appear to
have all of the right connections to get this one done. The latter is
attempting to take advantage of the contacts that
an Under
Armor representative who is an alumnus of the University of Maryland has
with Stephenson and the Lincoln program and the former is doing everything
it can to keep this top-ranked player from leaving home.
And, if St
John's head coach Norm Roberts can pull this one off, he could have
one of the most improved teams in the Big East Conference next year.
Currently the Red Storm are 13-15 overall and 4-11 in the league. But they
have 6'7 Sr Anthony Mason sitting out with a medical red-shirt this
season; 6'8 Soph Justin Burrell and 5'9 Soph Malik Boothe have
both been slowed by injuries this year; and 6'6 Rob Thomas may
eventually wake up and live up to all the hype and expectations. However,
even with Stephenson and an injury free team, the Red Storm may have a hard
time keeping up with Seton Hall next season. Did you know that the Pirates
only have one senior (Paul Gause) in the program and four excellent
players waiting in the wings in 6'11 Melyyn Oliver, who is sitting
out this year in an attempt to get his academics into order and into better
shape; 6'5 Soph Jeff Robinson, who transferred from Memphis to Seton
Hall last month; 6'8 Soph Herb Pope, who transferred from New Mexico
State to Seton Hall last fall; and 6'2 Jr Keon Lawrence, who
transferred from Missouri to Seton Hall last fall? As things stand now, the
Pirates have yet to sign anybody in this year's recruiting class. But our
New York City Editor Ron Naclerio thinks the Seton Hall will beat
Missouri and Kansas for 6'10 Jarrid Famous from Westchester (JC) NY,
who is one of the top five junior college players in the nation. And, if
he's right and Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez can put together
all of the right pieces in a hurry, then the Pirates could be ridiculous
next year.
Thursday,
February 19, 2009
The
rosters for the
McDonald's All-American Game
were announced yesterday and the East Squad includes 6'2 Kenny Boynton
from Plantation (American Heritage) FL, 6'5 Dominic Cheek from
Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'10 DeMarcus Cousins from Mobile (LeFlore)
AL, 6'9 Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'9 Milton
Jennings from Summerville (Pinewood Prep) SC, 6'8 Ryan Kelly from
Raleigh (Ravenscroft) NC, 6'9 Alex Oriakhi from Tilton (School) NH,
6'0 Peyton Siva from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 6'5 Lance Stephenson
from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'3 Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth
(St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Dante Taylor from Ft. Washington (National
Christian) MD, and 6'1 Maalik Wayns from Philadelphia (Roman
Catholic) PA. The West Squad includes 6'2 Avery Bradley from
Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Abdul Gaddy from Tacoma (Bellarmine)
WA, 6'8 Keith "Tiny" Gallon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6
Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'10 John Henson
from Tampa (Sickles) FL, 6'8 Wally Judge from Jacksonville (Arlington
Country Day) FL, 5'8 Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX,
6'11 Mason Plumlee from Arden (Christ School) NC, 6'9 Renardo
Sidney from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'4 Michael Snear from
Moreno Valley (Rancho Verde) CA, 6'10 David Wear from Santa Ana
(Mater Dei) CA, and 6'10 Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.
And, needless to say, we were shocked that 6'0 Peyton Siva from
Seattle (Franklin) WA was named to play in the game. Siva is a big time
athlete with a high energy level, the ability to both light it up from
downtown and get to the basket, and a lot natural talent. But he doesn't
make good enough decisions to be a pure point guard and he's too undersized
for the 2-guard spot at the big time college level. In other words, Piva is
an extremely talented combo guard with no real position, which explains why
he is ranked #52 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.
Other players who were named to play in the game who are not ranked among
our top 24 seniors nationally, but, at least had the right politics on their
side are 5'8 Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX, 6'11
Mason Plumlee from Arden (Christ School) NC, 6'10 David Wear from
Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'10 Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater
Dei) CA. Remember, the Wear twins both signed with North Carolina, they
play for the #1-ranked high school team in the nation, and they continue to
get better ever time we see them. Plumlee also has gotten a lot better, is
heading to Duke, and, like the Wear's, is a big white kid, which always
seems to be an advantage when it comes to a borderline player who trying to
make the game. Mason-Griffin is not a pure point guard, is not consistent
enough, and is too undersized. However, he is one of those guys who was
over hyped at a younger age, which explains why he made the game, despite
the fact we have him ranked no higher than #7 in the senior class in the
state, behind 6'0 Junior Cadugon from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'7
Erik Williams from Cypress (Cypress Springs) TX, 6'4 Roger
Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Nolan Dennis from North
Richland Hills (Richland) TX, 5'10 Ray Penn from Richmond (Ft. Bend
Travis) TX, and 6'7 Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX.
Speaking of Cadugon and Erik Williams, we stand by the fact that we have
them ranked #12 and #14 nationally in the senior class and that they are the
two best seniors in the state. Cadugon not only is the second best pure
point guard in the nation, but he also gets an A+ when it comes to helping
his team win and making his teammates better. Williams missed most of his
junior year with an injury, but, with his big time athleticism and ability
to score both inside and outside, he reinforced our belief that he is one of
the most undervalued players in the nation when we saw him last summer in
Las Vegas, NV. We also find it truly amazing that 6'3 Roberto Nelson
from Santa Barbara (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #11 nationally in the senior
class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'8 Joe Burton from Hemet (West
Valley) CA, who is ranked #18 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP
SCOOP, didn't even make the second ballot, which included the top 50
seniors nationally, much less the final ballot, in the voting for the
McDonald's All-American Game.
However, just like Cadugon, who plays at a prep school and is bound for
Marquette, both Nelson and Burton are winners. But they don't appear to
have the right politics on their side. Not only are they both going to
Oregon State, but Nelson has had academic issues and off-the-court problems
and Burton is an undersized center who still needs to drop weight and
improve on his conditioning. But Nelson has the athleticism, prolific
scoring ability, and natural talent to project as a good player in the NBA
someday and Burton is a beast around the basket and is similar in a lot of
ways to Ellis Myles, who turned out to be a terrific college player
for Rick Pitino at Louisville. We also were somewhat surprised by
the fact that 6'8 Wally Judge from Jacksonville (Arlington Country
Day) FL made the team in light of the fact that he has not played well this
winter. Remember, our Florida Editor Rick Staudt ranked Judge no
higher than #5 in the senior class in the state, behind 6'2 Kenny Boynton
from Plantation (American Heritage) FL, 6'10 John Henson from Tampa
(Sickles) FL, 6'8 Keith Clanton from Orlando (Christian) FL and 6'10
Kryrl Natashyzko from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, on the
Florida Report,
which we published in the Members Section.
And this is important, because it illustrates the fact once again that in
most cases what a player does during his senior year has very little to do
with regards to whether he will make the McDonald's
All-American Game.
However, this does give the Sunshine State three
McDonald's All-American's
in 6'2 Kenny Boynton from Plantation (American
Heritage) FL, 6'10 John Henson from Tampa (Sickles) FL, and 6'8
Wally Judge from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL. That also
ranks Florida second, behind California, which has four players in the game
in 6'9 Renardo Sidney from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'4 Michael
Snear from Moreno Valley (Rancho Verde) CA, 6'10 David Wear from
Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'10 Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater
Dei) CA. And yes, I did vote for Sidney, despite the fact that he is
currently ranked #39 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.
Remember, we've been one of Sidney's biggest critics, but we also were
hoping it would inspire him to get in shape and motivate him to take his
game to another level. Unfortunately, so far it hasn't worked. But that
doesn't mean Sidney isn't one of the best players in the class based on
share size, skills, and natural talent. We also were somewhat surprised by
the fact that 6'4 Michael Snear from Moreno Valley (Rancho Verde) CA
made the game. I voted for him and we have him ranked #16 in the nation.
But going to Florida State, instead of UCLA or Kansas, and playing AAU ball
for the Inland, instead of the Pumps, he's doesn't have any of the right
politics on his side. We also aren't entirely clear why 6'3 John Wall
from Raleigh (Word of God) NC was not on the original ballot in the
voting for the game. We suspect that has something to do with Wall being a
5th Year Player. But, just like 6'9 Alex Oriakhi from Tilton
(School) NH and 6'8 Dante Taylor from Ft. Washington (National
Christian) MD, who also are 5th Year Players and were named to play in the
game, Wall reclassified prior to his senior year, which is what we thought
the criteria was for making the game.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
With the exception of the
National Prep Alliance, which will
be held this weekend at the Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, TX, now
is the time of year when I stay home and work on National Player
Rankings and State-by-State Reports. And we're
already ready to publish Rick Staudt's Florida Report,
which is
available exclusively in the Members Section and very
eloquently gives us an idea of just how good high school basketball in the
state is right now. Not only does Staudt think that this may turn out to be
the best year ever for high school basketball in the Sunshine State, but 6'2
Kenny Boynton from Plantation (American Heritage) FL, 6'10 John
Henson from Tampa (Sickles) FL, 6'2 Jr Brandon Knight from Ft.
Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, and 6'2 Soph Austin Rivers from Winter
Park (H.S.) FL are four of the top 20-ranked players nationally regardless
of class. However, the fifth player on his First Team All-State Team, which
includes the top five players in the state regardless of class and position,
may come as a major surprise, as Staudt clearly has gone out on a limb by
ranking 6'8 Keith Clanton from Orlando (Christian) FL ahead of 6'8
Wally Judge from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL. "Judge has
not played nearly as well this winter as he did last summer on the AAU
circuit and Clanton is just that good," says Staudt. And making the story
even more interesting is the fact that Staudt also has 6'10 Kryrl
Natashyzko from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL ranked ahead of Judge,
which makes him one of the best unsigned seniors still available, as well as
the only player ranked among the top eight seniors in state who is still
available. Another interesting trend is the fact that University of Florida
continues to make a living by keeping the top players in their backyard at
home. If you will recall, two years ago the Gators landed 6'5 Nick
Calathes from Winter Park (H.S.) FL and 6'8 Chandler Parsons from
Winter Park (H.S.) FL and a year ago they landed 6'10 Eloy Vargas
from Plantation (American Heritage) FL, 6'10 Kenneth Kadji from
Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, and 6'4 Ray Shipman from Miami
(Monsignor Pace) FL. They also already have 6'2 Kenny Boynton from
Plantation (American Heritage) FL in their current recruiting class, 6'8 Jr
Patric Young from Jacksonville (Paxson) FL in next year's recruiting
class, and 6'2 Soph Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL in the
following year's recruiting class. And, the Gators may not be done yet as
they also appear to one of the favorites, along with schools like Duke,
North Carolina, Memphis, Connecticut, and Syracuse, for 6'2 Jr Brandon
Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, who, just like Boynton in
the senior class and Rivers in the sophomore class, is one of the top five
players in the nation in his respective class. We also plan to publish
Allen Rubin's
Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report
and our
ranking of the Top
Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (Sophomores)
by the end of the
month. And that second list will be the perfect complement to our
Ranking of the Top 1000 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2009 (Seniors),
which was
published on November 5th in the Members Section, and our
Ranking of the Top 750 Players
Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Juniors),
which was published on
February 3rd in the Members Section. We also plan to publish our
Ranking of the Top Players
Nationally in the Class of 2012 (Freshmen),
Ranking of the Top
Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (8th Graders),
Ranking of the Top
Players Nationally in the Class of 2014 (7th Graders),
Ranking of the Top
Players Nationally in the Class of 2015 (6th Graders),
and as many state-by-state reports as we can work into the mix prior to
going the NCAA Final Four in Detroit, MI the first week in April. Also
noteworthy is the fact that
McDonald's All-American Team
will be officially announced tomorrow on the 2009 McDonald's All-American
Game Selection Show on ESPNU at 6:00 PM |
