SCOOP OF THE DAY

FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2000

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Monday, January 31, 2000 - I have been reminded by a number of Indiana fans that I didn't think the Hoosiers would be very good before the season started. As a matter of fact, on one occasion I said "a last place finish this season in the Big-10 isn't out of the question." On another occasion, in reference to Indiana getting 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, which was something we did predict accurately, I said "it gives Knight a year of reprieve, because with Indiana's lack of front-court talent available, the only way they will be any good this year is via coaching, hard work, and overachieving." Well, if you never put it on the line, you're never wrong. However, I still don't think Indiana has the talent to be ranked among the nation's top 20 teams this year. As a result, head coach Bob Knight not only has done one of his best coaching jobs ever, but he has to be one of the leading candidates for national coach-of-the-year. And before I go any further, I want to point out that the standard for a great coach like Knight or Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is another one of the all-time great head coaches in the business, has to be a little bit higher. In otherwords, they don't win ties, because they're already supposed to be among the best. However, Knight, Krzyzewski, Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, and Tulsa's Bill Self are our early favorites for National College Coach-of-the-Year. And that's our Question of the Day. If you had to vote today, who would be your choice for National Coach-of-the-Year?

Saturday, January 29, 2000, and Sunday, January 30, 2000 - Will the NCAA eliminate the summer evaluation period during the month of July for college coaches?  That's what the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference Roy Kramer, who is on the Division I working group to study basketball issues, and a number of his colleagues would like to do.   They also are in favor of increasing "from 40 to 70 the number of recruiting days that may be used during the academic-year evaluation period and permit coaching staffs to evaluate only basketball activities" and "events approved, sanctioned, and sponsored or conducted by applicable state high school associations, national federation of state high school associations or national junior college athletic associations."  However, the implementation of such a rule would be a major disaster.  Obviously, it would put even more importance on the legitimate scouting services, which still would cover the summer from start to finish.  That's right!   The NIKE and adidas Camps and numerous other major events will still attract all the top players with or without the college coaches.  Remember, the top high school players all think they're going straight to the league right out of high school and a great performance at one of the top camps (i.e. Tracy McGrady) might be their ticket to bypass the NCAA Clearinghouse, minimum academic standards, going to class, and all the other things that many of the top players would prefer not to have to deal with.  It would also speed the recruiting process.  Forget about whether a player who is about to make one of the most important decisions of his life has enough information to make an intelligent decision.  The top player has recruiting people (i.e. Mike Sullivan of the Insiders Report) calling him every single day trying to get one up on their competition and he (the top player) already has been to a number of colleges on unofficial visits as a sophomore or junior usually with his AAU coach.  And the AAU coach will also have his power enhanced in numerous other ways.  Like, the scouting services that numerous college coaches buy in an effort get an advantage when recruiting the coach's players, will become more valuable than ever.   So will the players that he already is  coaching and recruiting all the way down to the junior high school and grade school levels.  If that weren't enough, eliminating the summer would also place a tremendous amount of emphasis upon recruiting players during their junior year.  Instead of doing the deal with the AAU coach during the summer, most of the deals would be done at high games during the winter. And no, it won't be the high school coach making decision and doing the deal.  It will be the AAU coach sitting in the first row of his star player's high school game right next to the college coach.  And we'll know the deal is done when we see the handshake.    Instead of solving the problem, the NCAA will create even more chaos and make the system work even more inefficiently.  Thus, explains why 65% of the people who responded to Friday's Question of the Day, which was how much confidence do you have in the NCAA to find a positive solution to the current problems involved with recruiting and summer camps, had no confidence or less than no confidence in the NCAA   It's just like Prop 48 and raising academic standards.  It looks good when you have to pass a standardized test and are required to pass 12 hours a semester in college to remain eligible, but it's all window dressing.  It used to be that a player with academic deficiencies could start with the remedial classes that would teach them how to read, write, and do basis math.   But those classes don't count towards graduation anymore and now a player has to pass 12 hours a semester that count towards graduation to remain eligible. So now the player doesn't take the remedial classes that will give him the foundation that he needs to do college work and eventually even graduate.  So obvious question is who how can a player stay eligible, if he can't do the basics?  Well, if you're an athlete and you show up for class on a regular basis and put forth any effort at all, you will get a C in most colleges, at least until you start taking courses in your major.  And by that time it's usually to late, because you're a junior or senior in college and, if you're good enough, you're long gone to the NBA by then.  Which brings us back to the problem at hand.  The power is already in the hands of the AAU coaches.  Sure the high school coach is often more legitimate, but in most cases, high school coaches don't want to put the time in and, as a result, they are perfectly willing to let somebody else deal with summer basketball and the recruiting process.  In most cases, they are teachers first and coaches second.   So what needs to be done?  Two things!   The NBA really doesn't want all these high school and college players at such a young age.  So get the NBA Players Association to pass a rule that says you can not be in their union unless you are 21 years old or graduated from college.   Second, get rid of the amateur status rule and let players get endorsement money from shoe companies et al. while still in college and even in high school.  I don't think players should be paid to play college basketball, but I do think they should be able get outside money in a free market place, which is not controlled by the NCAA.  If these two things were to happen, the NBA draft truly would be interesting again.  Not only would it eliminate any restrictions upon when a player could be drafted, but it would also save a lot of money for the professional teams and solve a lot of economic hardships for a player from a poor socioeconomic background.   Let's say, you're the best high school 8th grader in the nation and you decide to put your name into the draft.   Obviously, the team that picks you would be speculating on your future, so they won't pay you nearly as much as they would if you were one the top seniors in college basketball.  Let's use 5'8 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn, NY as an example.   Do you draft now and start paying him $4 or $5 million dollars on a contract that will run through his first five NBA seasons or wait until he is a senior in college?   If he turns out to be the next Stephon Marbury, he'll probably be able to sign for 20 or 30 times that.  But what happens, if he gets hurt, doesn't improve, or doesn't grow.  Then, he would have been smart to take the money and run, which is what most of these high school guys are doing now anyway.   Plus, he could get what market would bare in terms of shoe money and other endorsements, be finincial set for life, and still have time to grow up.  Thus, is the case with the musician or the actor who is invited to perform and is paid to appear to in a concert, a movie, or on television.  Unlike with the NCAA, they can reap the rewards for their talent immediately and they don't have to worry about not getting a scholarship to college or even worse being labelled a dumby in one area, while being extremely gifted or even a genius in their chosen field.  The NCAA's rules for amateurism were passed in the 1950's in an attempt to gain control over athletes in track and field in what was a power game with AAU.  Not only is what they are doing wrong, but it is killing what used to be the best spectator sport in the world - college basketball?  What do you think?  Tell us by clicking on Question of the Day or email me at clark@hoopscooponline.com.

Friday, January 28, 2000 - We have updated our list of the top 100 seniors nationally and there are several very interesting things that might surprise you.  First, we have 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL ranked now higher than #7 in the class nationally, which is lower than anybody else.  While Wallace is an incredible athlete and has tremendous potential, he needs to develop a better understanding of the game and a more consistent 3-point shot.  Remember, one of the main lessons that we all hopefully took away from the book Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth is that too much to early isn't good.  However, a big part of the problem are people in our business who want to rank players primarily on potential and, as a result, are willing to overlook things right now.  And while    Wallace has been brilliant at time (i.e. the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions last May), he has yet to put all the pieces together on a consistent basis.    So just like 6'9 DerMarr Johnson, who we ranked no higher than #32 at the adidas ABCD Camp several summers ago, we're going to let him earn it.   And if that helps motivate Wallace to prove us wrong, good for him!   So, as it stands now, I don't see how I can rank him over the six players - 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, we have ahead of him.  Griffin is one of the most consistent players in the class, Miles is the most naturally gifted, Jeffries is probably the most skilled and versatile, and although very different, Duhon, Taylor, and Barrett are all capable of dominating a game from the point guard spot.  As a result, we may take some heat for our ranking of Wallace, who is definitely the most athletic of the group, but it's not without rhyme or reason.  We also like 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC just a little better than 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, which explains why we have Harper ranked #8 and Stevenson #9.  Remember, we saw them go head-to-head at Slam Dunk to the Beach a month a ago and Harper is a lot more under control and makes his teammates better, while Stevenson just flat out tries to do too much.  Where it got real tough was at #10, where we think you can almost flip a coin or draw straws among 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, 6'9 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL, 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, and 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  Cook, who drops to #13, came out on the short end due to his arrogance towards the media.  However, this will probably be good for him, because it will just motivate him to be that much better.  Remember, Cook has that New York City toughness and, as a result, is one of the fiercest competitors in the class.    Next are 6'9 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN, who will move much higher if he ever gets back into great shape, and 6'9 Alton Ford from Houston (Milby) TX, who dropped out of our top five of the class after a subpar summer.  Next comes the second major surprise, as 6'3 Cedric Banks from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL checks in at #16 just ahead of several other extremely talented Chicago area players in 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL and 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL.  Banks is tremendous athlete and has the heart of championship, as is evident by the success his team's have had both last summer when they won the AAU 17-Under National Championship and this winter (Westinghouse has been ranked among the top five nationally in the polls most of the season).  If Banks, develops a consistent outside shot, he'll be a lottery pick in the NBA draft someday!  It will also surprise a lot of people that 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR and 6'1 Jake Sullivan from Oakdale (Tartan) MN being ranked in the 20-30 range, but is a great passer and is so quick and good with the ball that he usually breaks the press by himself  and Sullivan is a lights out 3-point shooter and a tremendous competitor, just like Scott Skiles.    The fastest rising player in the nation is 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, who ranked as a borderline top 100 player before Christmas, but who now ranks #40 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Not only is McFarlan making a surge during his senior season reminiscent of former Maryland All-American Joe Smith, but their games' are similar in many ways.   You can get our list of the top 100 seniors nationally by click on Top100 Players in the Class of 2000.  We also are in the process of finalizing our list of the top 100-plus prep school, 5th year, and foreign players who have signed with or are being recruited by colleges in the United States.   While this list won't be competed until next week, we currently have 90 players ranked in order and you can get it exclusively by subscribing to the Members Section.

Thursday, January 27, 2000 - If you will recall, several days ago we reported that University of Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins was flying down to see 6'8 Roderick Flowers from Huntsville (Butler) AL.   So it comes as no surprise that Flowers, who is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally, has made a verbal commitment to the Bearcats.  He picked Cincinnati over Louisville, Alabama, N.C. State, Virginia, and Northwestern.   We also reported two days ago that we had unconfirmed reports that 6'4 Donnell Allick from Winchendon (School) MA had verbally committed to Providence.   Well, our New England Editor Wayne Simone has confirmed it.    We also have confirmed that 6'9 Jr Adam Schaper from Wheatfield (Kankakee Valley) IN has made an early committed to Iowa State.  But we're not sure why, because he ranks no higher than #28 in the state by our Indiana Editor Jim Kasberg.  Apparently the connection is that Schaper is a close friend with 6'4 Shane Power from Gary (Andrean) IN, who signed with Iowa State during the fall signing period.  Schaper becomes the second player from whom the Cyclones have received an early commitment.  Remember, 6'5 Soph Adam Haluska from Carroll (Community) IA, who is a legitimate top 50 sophomore nationally, committed to Iowa State last fall. 

Wednesday, January 26, 2000 - We are finished with Wayne Simone's updated New England Report and the big story in New England is the great freshman class, which is headed by 6'5 Frosh Roosevelt Lee from New Britain (H.S.) CT and 6'7 Frosh Lawrence Ryan Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT.  Lee, who is an outstanding athlete, is excellent both inside and outside and already is one of the best players for Simone's 16-Under AAU team.  Carrier, who reminds us of a young Glen Rice, is transplanted from Redlands, CA.  He made a name for himself last summer at the adidas ABCD Camp, where he was ranked as the #22 wing forward in camp, and while playing for the Inlands I AAU team, along with 5'6 Avery Queen, who recently has surfaced at Troy (Redemption) NY.  However, to get this report, which includes Simone's ranking of the top 88 seniors, 73 juniors, 38 sophomores, and 14 freshmen in New England, you need to subscribe to the Members Section.

Tuesday, January 25, 2000 - Providence has gotten a commitment from 6'2 Shieku Kabba from Bronx (Regional) NY.  You remember him, he's the guy who helped 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL lead the Bronx Gauchos to the championship at the Five-Star Invitational Tournament at Staten Island, NY in September.  He also outplayed 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY when the Gauchos upset New York Riverside Church in the semi-finals of that tournament and is both tough enough and skilled enough to step in and help run the show immediately at Providence as a freshman.  Plus, Kabba is like St. John's star point 6'1 Erick Barkley when he came out, because he's several year's older than his class and, as a result, has to pay his dues in order to make is academically.  Thus, he's not eligible to play high school basketball this season, because he's too old, but he's finishing up on his core and it now appears that he will be qualified to play at a four-year school next year.  If that weren't enough, we also are getting unconfirmed reports that Providence also got a commitment earlier today from 6'4 Donnell Allick from Winchendon (School) MA.  Not only  doesn't Allick get the recognition that he deserves, but he has emerged as one of Winchendon's best players this year.   Allick picks the Friars over Rutgers, Villanova, Boston College, and Massachusetts. Providence's only recruit from the fall signing period 6'10 Marcus Douthit from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA also needs to be mentioned.  Douthit hasn't been getting along with his coach and, as a result, he has been sitting out.  However, it should be stressed that's by his own choice.  He has not been suspended.

Monday, January 24, 2000 - We have gone back into our archives and added a page to our web site with links to both the NIKE and adidas Camps from the last two years. Obviously, all this is good material to have available, especially if you want to know where a player was ranked for future reference.  And you can get it by clicking on NIKE and adidas.  Speaking of major events, Slam Dunk to the Beach executive director Bobby Jacobs, has been busy recently, as is evident by the number of teams he already has lined up for his tournaments.  Remember, his five day basketball extravaganza has an eight team Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament, which features the top eight teams in the tournament, plus he has four other four-team tournaments, including the Mayor's Cup, Governor's Trophy, Tip-off Series, and National Power Series, as well as a number of individual matchups.  While we don't know the exact bracketing yet, we do know thatJacobs already has commitments from are Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Compton (Dominguez) CA, New York (Rice) NY, Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, Albany (Westover) GA, Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, Jackson (Murrah) MS, Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, Coatesville (H.S.) PA, Somerdale (Sterling) NJ, and Bowling Green (H.S.) KY.   Jacobs also tells us that he's still working on Camden (H.S.) NJ, Louisville (Ballard) KY, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, and Limestone (Washington College) TN and he's also considering taking Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  If all this falls into place, Jacobs may have as many McDonald's All-American's as the McDonald's All-American Game.  Don't believe it?  Well, the list of players includes 7'1 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 5'11 Jr Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'3 Jr Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'1 Jr Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'1 Jr Maurice Jackson from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'9 Jr Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'9 Jr Harvey Thomas from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Jr Levi Watkins from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'5 Jr Greg Tinch from Albany (Westover) GA, 6'5 Jr John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, 6'2 Jr Ernest Sterling from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ, and 6'6 Jr Olu Babalola from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, plus all the good young sophomores from Rice and St. Anthony, as well anybody else that Joel Hopkins recruits at Mt. Zion Christian.  If Jacobs pulls this off, he might even have more talent than some of the great fields that were assembled by Eddie Oliver when the Beach Ball Classic year in and year out featured some of the best fields ever assembled.

Saturday, January 22, 2000 and Sunday, January 23, 2000 - I just got through reading the new book Sole Influence: Basketball Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of American Youth by Dan Wetzel and Don Yaeger and it is a must read for anybody interested in basketball. It starts off providing the necessary background on the shoe business, the ongoing war between NIKE and adidas, and the never ending search for the next Michael Jordan. And all this is essential to understand where basketball is heading on the high school, college, and professional levels. The two of the most powerful men in the book are Sonny Vaccaro and George Raveling and the book does an excellent job of capturing both men, their long-time fued, and their tremendous influence on grassrouts basketball. The book also serves as an expose' into the street agents, the corruption, and all the problems that have arisen since the NCAA attempted to level the playing field in 1988 by limiting the amount of time college coaches were allowed to evaluate high school players during the winter. "By limiting evaluation during the winter months, but creating an unlimited live July recruiting period, the NCAA made the traveling team coach, unregulated and occasionally unsavory, the star and the gatekeeper of its recruiting process. In doing so, it made the traditional high school coach virtually obsolete. The very people the NCAA despises today are truly of its own creation." And like any good book, Wetzel and Yaeger, try and present each side to the story, but in many way it raises more questions than it answers. It does conclude that in "Corporate America's obscene search for the next Jordan - led by NIKE and adidas - has practically ensured he'll never exist. Their coddling will ruin him before he ever gets a chance." But I disagree and one needs to look no further than James Taylor, who emerges as one of the true heroes in the book. No, his son, Marcus Taylor, who since 8th grade has been touted as one of the top five players in his class nationally, probably won't be the next Jordan. But by not allowing his son to travel all over the world playing AAU ball or accepting all the lavish gear from the shoe companies, his father did provide the direction and support that often is so lacking in parents today.  Instead, except to go the NIKE All-American Camp for a week in July the last three summers, the younger Taylor stayed home and worked on his skills and, as a result, he wasn't corrupted by a system that now gives you too much too early. And what about somebody like Donnell Harvey, who was named the consensus National High School Player-of-the-Year last spring? He wasn't the biggest or the strongest or the most athletic. But not nobody played harder or was any more humble about it.  In otherwords, he did it the old-fashioned, he earned it.  "Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, the three greatest players of the past two decades, all grew up in basketball obsurity.  All attended their local high school.   None played national AAU basketball.  Each bought their very own pairs of shoes. All held part-time jobs to earn a little spending money. Each developed a hunger to be the best, an obession to a champion. That obession is what made those players great." And while Wetzel and Yaeger are on the right track, you will always find exceptions to any rule and players like Jordan, Bird, and Johnson were exceptions in the first place. Obviously, they combined that obession with tremendous natural talent, a love for the game, and a discipline that would destine them for greatness. So to give up on there being another Jordan is like giving up on a whole group of our society. No, I'm not talking about anything racial, but most of the best basketball players do happen to be black. However, SAT scores and not doing well is really a socioeconomic problem, not a racial problem. Poor white kids who are poorly prepared academically do just as bad as poor black kids on the SAT and black kids who are well prepared academically do just as well in college as white kid from good school systems. The problems are much greater than some multi-national shoe company giving a kid too much gear or too many people telling the next Lamar Odom how good is when he's only 14 or 15 year old. Instead, the problems are with our society as a whole, which is something Wetzel and Yaeger also talk about. "Surely the game is suffering. The quality of play the NBA is putting out each night is not up to the aesthetic levels of the past few decades. The level of boorish player behavior, however, is at a record high. The league's newest generation of players, the ones weaned on a steady diet of free gear and AAU ball, is generally regarded as pushing the game to new depths. The worst are vocal defenders of their individual rights. They are shocked when informed that marijuana is illegal, hustle is demanded, off-season workouts are expected. They talk on their cell phone a lot. They don't dive on the floor very often. Consider some of adidas' signature players. Tim Thomas, traded after two disappointing seasons in Philedelphia; Jermaine O'Neal, struggling to crack the line-up in Portland; Tracy McGrady, playing listless in Toronto; Antonie Walker, one of the most despised athletes in Boston for his hotdogging style, fat contract, and lazy on-court attitude that proud Celtics fans have always despised. We understand these are not the days for individual responsibility. We very much understand that. These are the days of individual rights. The right to do as you please. The right to be a hypocrite. The right to violate any rule you disagree with. The right to take only a cursory interest in academics. The right to employ a former crack dealer to baby-sit kids because he's effective. The right to give six figures a year to a high school coach with a skaky academic problems because he delivers kids. The right to sell out your school because $7.1 million goes a long way in Lexington, Knoxville, or Chapel Hill. These are the days for those rights." It might better be described as the "dumbing down of our society." If you fix the problems in our society, like the disgraceful educational system in the public schools, turn the tide against an overwhelming number of kids growing up in one parent homes, provide a lucrative form of employee in the ghetto other than selling drugs, and get role models who don't assault their coach and are then just picked up by another team, the youth of today might be better able to succeed and, as a result, have a better chance to be more "like Mike." And from a basketball perpective all this becomes important, because once again the NCAA and people who are part of the establishment want to make changes - clean up what has evolved into a big business that is now exploiting teenage athletes. Easier said than done, because the people in power don't understand that the problems of society in general go hand-in-hand with basketball today at every level. How can kids pass a standardized test, which is now necessary to be eligible to play as a freshman at four-year Division I school, if you've been socially promoted all the way through and, as a result, never been taught how to read, write, and do basic math? And vice versa! Maybe if we solve some of the problems that are associated with grassrouts basketball, it can be translated into other walks life. After all, professional, college, and even high school players are role models for the youth of today. While there are no easy solutions, this book does a good job of at least identifying many of the problems, as well as provide tremendous insight into a world that the average basketball fan hardly even knows exists. "While the action on the court is supposed to be the main focus, college basketball is made along the sidelines of the basketball court of the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, adidas ABCD in Teaneck, and various AAU events around the country, most notably the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NIKE Supershowcase in Orlando, and the Nike Peach Jam in Augusta, Georgia. There in stuffy gyms, with shoe company banners hanging from the walls, college coaches and scouts, AAU coaches, high school coaches and parents, jostle for space to watch the game on the court. In such close proximity to one another, the recruiters and the handlers of the recruited, is where the relationships are formed, hands are shock, and deals gets done. It's a long way from the glamour of the Final Four, where under the bright lights of national television in a sold-out dome stadium, America sees the final product. But without this, could there be that?"

Friday, January 21, 2000 - The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'9 Nate Knight, who recently transferred from Kentucky, has, as expected, decided to enroll at Brigham Young.  We also are looking for Brigham Young to get a commitment from 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, who ranks among our top 25 nationally.  However, unlike most of the top ranked seniors in the nation, Meads is taking his time and, as a result, a decision may not be forthcoming any time soon.  And no, he didn't commit to Stanford, which seems to be the popular consensus among a lot of people in the business.  Stanford is still on his list, but it looks like Meads will likely stay close to home, as BYU leads Utah and Stanford is a distant third.  The best point guard still available is 6'3 Eddie Starks from Northwest (Christian) FL, but prep school may be in his future.   However, Miami-FL, Rutgers, and UNLV are waiting to see if he makes it academically and schools like Arizona and Kentucky have recently made inquiries. 

Thursday, January 20, 2000 - We have heard through the grapevine that the University of Louisville is the early leader for 6'10 Jr Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, who was ranked as the #2 center and the #12 player overall at the adidas ABCD Camp last summer.  But upon checking further, Cisse's legal guardian, Don Jackson does not confirm that Louisville or anybody else as the leader.  "He's still wide open," says Jackson.  However, Jackson does confirm that Louisville head coach Denny Crum has been down there twice and that he has been very aggressive recruiting his older brother - 6'9 Daouda Cisse, who has followed Ousmane to America from Mali.  No, there is no red tape that colleges will have to worry about, like with the Nigerians that Louisville recruited a year ago.  As a matter of fact, both Daouda and Ousmane are excellent students.  However, last summer Ousmane transferred from Montgomery (Catholic) AL to Montgomery (St. Jude) AL.  So he has to sit out this year in accordance to the Alabama State High School Athletic Association transfer rule.  However, Ousmane will be eligible to play next year as a high school senior.  Right now this phenemenal athlete, excellent shot blocker, and good defender ranks among our top 20 juniors nationally, but it's his upside and work ethic that lead us to believe that his upside is scary.  Once he develops his offensive game, there now telling how good he could become!  While Ousmane's game is entirely inside, Daouda can play the two, three, and four spots and is an excellent shooter out to 20 feet.  How good is Daouda?   We've never seen him play, but Jackson tells us that everybody in the country is trying to get involved.  However, as it stands now Alabama, Michigan, Louisville, Indiana, Cincinnati, Virginia, Baylor, UAB, Alabama State, and Southern University have shown the most interest.

Wednesday, January 19, 2000 - What a difference a week can make!  Just a week ago UCLA head coach Steve Lavin was on the hot set after the Bruins lost to Southern Cal, 91-79.  However, all that changed when UCLA went to Chapel Hill, NC on Saturday and upset North Carolina.  So wouldn't it be truly ironic if UCLA knocked off an under manned Arizona team, which is currently ranked #2 nationally by all the major polls, tomorrow night at Pauley Pavilion.  Lavin could go from being on the verge of getting fired (at least according to the fans) to getting a raise in only eight days. And that's not the only place where UCLA and Arizona are in competition, as both schools are back in the hunt for 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA and 6'9 Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA. Obviously, when Luke Recker and Ruben Douglas both transferred, Arizona suddenly needed to fill several spots. UCLA could be in the same boat if either Jerome Moiso or Dan Gadzuric turn professional after the current season. Another potential UCLA recruit is 7'0 Josh Moore, who is not at Santa Monica (JC) CA, as was reported earlier. Instead, he's at Long Beach City (JC) CA and guess who is the coach at Long Beach City? That's right! Gary Anderson, who once was a player for Lute Olson and who also happens to be the father of current Arizona sophomore Ricky Anderson. Now, we suspect that if UCLA stashed Moore at Long Beach City, they will probably get him back.  However, if by some chance Moore doesn't get the B and C that he needs to get into UCLA, Arizona certainly would be an option, because he has already academically qualified according to NCAA standards. Just not UCLA standards.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000 - Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also tells us that the Buckeye Sports Bulletin, which is a weekly newspaper that covers Ohio State Athletics, has an article written by Jeff Rapp that is in direct contrast with what 6'9 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH told us on Saturday at the National Hoops Classic in Columbus, OH. In the January 22nd issue, which came out today, Rapp, who talked with Williams on Sunday, says that Ohio State and Cincinnati are the leaders. He also said that Maryland, St. John's, Duke, N.C. State, Connecticut, Clemson, and Kentucky are also on his list. The list that Williams gave me on Saturday, which we reported yesterday, was exactly the same, except he didn't list St. John's and Ohio State. When specifically asked about Ohio State, he said no. Maybe he was playing up to the Ohio State audience! Maybe he changed is mind from one day to the next! Maybe he is one of these guys who tells everybody something different. Whatever the case might be, don't worry about it.  It's early! A good example of this is 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who told one recruiting publication that he has already committed to the University of Arizona. Well, he may think he's committed, but Arizona has not offered him. As a matter of fact, they haven't even seen him play. Which leads us to one of the big problems on the internet right now.  Most of the top seniors have already committed or are waiting until spring to sign, which means there isn't much to talk about if one's bread and butter is to call up players and get a list of schools. One of the alternatives is to focus on juniors, but often it doesn't mean much. A good example is Hargett, who gave us a list on Saturday that included Arizona, Ohio State, and Michigan. How did Ohio State make the list? Well, he was in Columbus, OH, he had been on the Buckeyes campus earlier in the day, and he had to mention somebody.

Monday, January 17, 2000 - We talked with a number of the top underclassmen in attendance at the National Hoops Classic in Columbus, OH and got some early recruiting information.  Nothing has changed with 6'3 Jr Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, as North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, and Kentucky are the top four schools on his list.  The top three for 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC are Arizona, Ohio State, and Michigan.  Connecticut, Florida, Seton Hall, Maryland, UCLA, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Cincinnati are all in the hunt for 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport School) MD.   Duke, Cincinnati, Maryland, Clemson, N.C. State, Kentucky, and Connecticut are all in the hunt for 6'9 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH.  And, yes, we did ask him about Ohio State, but Williams nodded his head no.  Obviously, something major has happened to turn him off the Buckeyes, because last fall they were one of the leaders.  Maryland, Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Auburn, Florida, and Louisville are all showing early interest in 6'11 Jr DeSanaga Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'9 Jr Harvey Thomas from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC says he likes Cincinnati, Kentucky, Ohio State, Rutgers, and Duke.  Speaking of Thomas, he was listed last summer as a sophomore at the adidas ABCD Camp, but as a junior in the program at the National Hoops Classic.  So naturally we checked with both his high school coach Joel Hopkins and Thomas himself.  As it turns out, the program was right - he is a junior. 

Saturday, January 15, 2000 and Sunday, January 16, 2000 - A lot of people think that Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, whose top four players are all underclassmen, might be the best high school team in the nation next year.  However, they sure didn't impress anybody at Saturday at National Hoops Classic on Saturday in Columbus, OH, as they lost in overtime to Westerville (North) OH, 73-65.  The best prospect in the game was Whitney Young's 6'7 Soph Marcus White, who had 13 points and six rebounds.  However, most of that came before half-time.     Instead the player who stepped up at crunch time for Whitney Young was 6'5 Jr Ronald Howard, who scored most of his 18 points down the stretch and really impressed us with his mid-range game.  Howard can beat you either by getting his shot off the dribble or going to the hole, but he needs to extend his range out beyond the arc, if he wants to become a top priority for schools at the high major level.  We als have to mention.  6'7 Jr Najeeb Echols and 6'1 Jr Chris Hill.   Hill, who has 11 points and five assits, impressed us with his ability to penetrate and dish, hit the open 3-point shot, and rebound for somebody his size.  However, he still needs to work on his decision making.  Echols had 13 points, but wasn't very productive, especially inside, as was evident by his lack of intensity inside (only three rebounds).  The best player and leading scorer in the game was 6'5 Bobby Smith from Westerville (North) OH, who finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.  We also really liked the long range potential of 6'11 Clay McGowen from Westerville (North) OH, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.  As a matter of fact, McGowen is a steal for Old Dominion, which is where he signed during the early signing period.  He's got soft hands, good mobility, an incredible wing span, good post moves inside, and he's not afraid to compete.  However, the big guy will be how he develops phyiscally, as he needs to get a lot bigger and stronger.  Robbie Owens, the 6'7 wing forward from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, impressed us with his outside shooting early, but he disappeared as the game wore on, as Mt. Zion outscored Brookhaven, 40-24 in the second half en route to a 75-52 victory.  As always, 6'4 Antonio Hargrove, who was named the MVP for Mt Zion, was terrific in transition and on the boards with 17 points and 12 rebounds.  He's a legitimate top 70 senior in the nation and a total steal for Virginia Commonwealth, which is where committed to in July.  But he could be a pro, if he ever develops a 3-point mentality to go with his incredible athleticism and moves to the basket.  However, it was 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett, who kept putting the nails into the Brookhaven's coffin with his long range bombs and explosive speed and quickness, which he used to  beat Brookhaven's guards off the dribble or go to the hole.  He's also a great passer an excellent upper body and tremendous natural talent.   We also were impressed by the upside of  6'9 Jr Harvey Thomas, who had 12 points and seven rebounds.  Right now he makes a living off dunk and rebounds, but what an athlete!  If he bulks up physically and develops some post moves, the sky's the limit.  If that weren't enough, Hopkins also has three other outstanding underclassmen who need to be mentioned in 6'7 Jr Tyrone Salley, 6'3 Jr Jarrett Jack, and 6'9 Soph Amir Stoudamire.   It came as no surprise that Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA only beat a good Canton (McKinley) OH team, 78-68, but were a little surprise at how much 6'11 Jr DeSanaga Diop has improved. We saw Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at the KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO, but at that point Diop saw only limited action.  Now he's emerged as his team's leading rebounder and shot blocker with 11 boards and four rejects.  He's also got great instincts and already has developed some moves to the basket.  However, he tries to beat you more with finesse than power.  Part of that is becoming more fimilar with the American game, but once he develops that killer mentality, he will be a force to be reckoned with at the highest level.  Which is why we will rank him among our top 10 juniors nationally.  The leading scorer for Oak Hill was 6'3 Jr Rashaad Carruth, who hit his first four 3-pointers en route to 22 points.  No surprise here, because Carruth is one of the best 3-point shooters in the class.  However, he couldn't get the easy one's to fall, as three or four layups rolled in and out, as he ended up 8-13 from the field, including 5-8 from beyond the arc.  Also chipping in with 12 points was 6'6 Luke Whitehead and 19 points was 6'5 David Holmes, although he has been beaten out of the starting lineup by Diop.  The best player for Canton (McKinley) OH, as well as the best player we saw from the state of Ohio all day, was 6'4 Dwayne Broyles, who has already signed with James Madison.  He not only shot the lights out, as he hit 5-7 3-pointers en route to 27 points, but he also was excellent slashing to the hole and was his team's leading rebounder with seven boards.   Right now our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has Broyles ranked #17 in the state, but he's a lot better than most of the players we're seen in the state who are ahead of him.  So look for Broyles to move way up in the future.   In the final game of the day Zanesville (H.S.) OH jumped out to a 17-10 lead against Kensington (Newport School) MD, but after that it was the White and Goodrich show, as 6'7 Jr James White and 5'10 Jr Gil Goodrich combined for 47 points.  White had 24 points and nine rebounds and he impressed the crowd with his usual number of highlight film-like athletic moves and dunks, but game MVP honors went to Goodrich.  And that was the correct choice, because Goodrich was the heart and sole of the team, as he made all the big long range shots, as the Newport School took home a 89-71 victory.  Goodrich also made some phenomenal passes in transition, but he's too small to play the 2-spot in college and we're not sure he has the mentality to be a point guard in a half court setting at the next level.  So another year at the Newport School could go a long way towards helping him get recruited at the highest level.   That's why he's listed as a junior a second consecutive season, but for our purposed, he'll be on our 5th year list next year.  The best player for Zanesville was 5'10 Andre Hodge, who impressed us with 21 points and four assists.  He's quick the dribble, makes good decisions, and plays good defense, which is why we think he has a mid-to-low Division I future.  Another surprise Saturday at the National Hoops Classic, especially in light of what we'd written on Friday, is the fact that Mike Sullivan of Insider's Report, was in the house.  As a result, we can now confirm that Sullivan does exist.   Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction toward establishing his credibility.  Next time he shows up at a tournament, we suggest that he seek out the other scouts who are in attendance and introduce himself. 

Friday, January 14, 2000 - We got our ballot for the McDonald's All American Game earlier this week and, as always it is an honor to provide my input, because it has been the most prestigious high school all-star game in the nation for many years.  It is the dream of every high school basketball player in America to be named to the team and the executive director of the game, Bob Geoghan, who is one of the best people in the business, has always tried to do a first class job running the game in every way.  So has Dan O'Neal, who for years served as Geoghan's assistant and did most of the detail work involved with running the game.   While O'Neal has gone onto bigger and better things working with the NBA, it was still a major surprise and disappointment when I got this year's ballot.  It is obvious that whoever was responsible for putting it together had absolutely no clue of what he was doing.  Some of the most extreme examples are 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA being listed as a 2-guard, not a power forward; 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS listed as power forward, instead of wing forward, 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA listed as wing forward, instead of a power forward; 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS listed as a power forward, instead of wing forward; 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX listed as a cetner, instead of power forward or even a wing forward; 6'6 Cedric Knight from Louisville (Ballard) KY listed as wing foward, instead of a power forward; 6'11 Brandon Crump from Houston (Klein Forest) TX listed as a wing forward, instead of a power forward or a center; 6'6 Teyo Johnson from San Diego (Mira Mesa) CA listed as a 2-guard, instead of a power forward or possibly a wing forward; 6'5 Raheim Lamb from Boston (English) MA listed as a wing forward, instead of a power forward.  Even worse, two of the best players in the nation were left off the ballot - 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and 6'9 Jason Parker from Fork Union (Military) VA.  The only explanation for this oversite might be that 5th year players aren't eligible.  However, that can't be right, because 6'2 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH, and 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT are all 5th year players.  The voting is also skewed so that players at certain positions have a much better change of making the team, as there are 22 centers, 36 power forwards, 16 wing forwards, 27 shooting guards, and 24 points guards on the ballot.  A good example is 6'6 Terrance Crawford from Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuinnes) OK,  who ranks among the top 70 seniors in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but has no business being one of the top six wing forwards, which is the number of players that we were asked to vote on at each position.  However, according to my rankings Crawford is the 6th best wing forward at what is an extremely weak position, based on who is on the ballot at that position.  All this might make sense if Mike Sullivan of Insider's Report, who is the now the star for Rivals.com based on the number of hits his web site is getting, had something to do with it.  However, we think of him more as a fraud!  Remember, 59% of the people who responded to our Question of the Day. on January 1st either thought he didn't exist or weren't sure.  I guess he can fool the other 41% of the people, because few if any have ever seen him.   Not only does Sullivan rarely go to games, but he hasn't seen most of the players he will be voting for.  That's right!  He is now a member of the McDonald's Selection Committee.  A great example came recently when Sullivan called a high school coach on the West Coast whose son has a legitimate shot at making the team.   You see, Sullivan hasn't seen his son play, so he wanted a tape so he could determine whether to vote for him for McDonald's.  Just imagine the insult the father must have felt, especially when one finds out the father spent thousands of dollars and devoted the entire month of July each of the last three years coaching the AAU team that his son played on.  Obviously, he wanted to get his son, as well as other players in the area, exposure to college coaches and scouts (i.e. Sullivan).  As a result, the entire McDonald's All American selection process has a major credibility problem.  Actually the person who is in charge of putting together the McDonald's Team now that O'Neal is gone is Steve Beck and this is not the first time that he's been totally out to lunch.  A year and a half ago in Fast Break, which is a recruiting publication for which Beck is the editor, ran a list of all the players who had signed through about the middle of April.  Upon looking at the list, it quickly became evident that I had run across a flagrant case of plagiarism.  Not only had Fast Break stolen my list, but they hadn't even bothered to correct the mistakes, the football players that I had included with certain recruiting classes, and juniors who are automatically included with our list of signings, but had no business being listed with the seniors who had just signed.  I called Beck and chewed him a new you know what and told him that either he would correct the problem or I would.   However, as far as I can tell, Beck did to absolutely nothing to address the matter, except maybe make Sullivan or whoever else who he might have working for him who is that totally incompetent, not to do it anymore.  However, does appear that Beck has blackballed me, as Rival Net has either approached and/or bought out just about everybody else in the business.  Well, Beck and his bunch have successfully created what appears to be the National Inquirer of Basketball.  Their numbers (hits to their web site) may be great, but they apparently have forgotten about things like facts, ethics, journalist integrity, truth, honesty, and hard work.  I don't have any idea who has the best web site out there, because I'm too busy trying to take care of my own business and, as a result, rarely see what anybody else does.  However, an overwhelming number of people tell us that we are second to none in terms of both volume of information and content.  Not only do I appreciate the encouragement and support, but I will continue to make our web site even better in the future.   However, I refuse to sit back and let people (Sullivan and Beck) who I am now competitive with in the market place perpetrate what  is obviously a fraud.  I suspect that I will no longer be voting for the McDonald's All-American Team, but I will be able to sleep well tonight.  Not only have I have stood up for myself and my business, but also  many of my associates and competitors, like Bob Gibbons, Brick Oettinger, Tom Konchalski, Greg Swaim, Van Coleman, Dave Benezra, Patrick Jira, Dan Wetzel, Vince Baldwin, et al, all of whom have done it the right way over a period of time.  If Sullivan wants to join this group, he should go to games.  If Beck wants to join this group, a retraction from a year and a half ago would be a good start and paying attention to accuracy and detail would also be a step in the right direction. 

Thursday, January 13, 2000 - Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 7'0 Uche Okafor, who signed with Miami-FL last spring, but has yet to be cleared to play by the NCAA, has enrolled at the College of Southern Idaho and will be eligible right away. Obviously this is a great move for Okafor, because he will have a great point guard in 5'8 Kenneth Brunner, who will get him the ball inside and, as a result, provide him with plenty of scoring opportunities. If you will recall, Okafor is one of the three Nigerians via Toronto, ON, all of whom have been placed on hold until their eligibility status can be ruled upon by the NCAA. As for the other two, we're not sure if 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi is currently in Toronto, ON or still in California, but we do know that he was unsuccessful on several attempts to get the necessary that he'll need to be eligible to participate at four-year Division I school. There are all kinds of rumors about the status of 6'11 Muhammed Lesage, who is currently in school at Louisville, but nobody in the know seems to know anything concrete.

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

Tuesday, January 11, 2000 - Now that all the holiday tournaments are over and we've had some time reflect, we've decided to shock a lot of people by ranking 5'8 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY among our top five seniors nationally. Right now 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 6'4 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, and 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA are all locks for the top five.   However, the 5th is still up for grabs and after watching the three obvious candidates - 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) WA, and 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC - during the last month, we're still not confortable with any one of the three. So Barrett, who is the best player at his size that we've ever seen at the high school level, is a great compromise choice. And like 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph-Clay) GA, who ended up being the consensus #1 player in the nation a year ago, Barrett has done it the old-fashioned way - he's earned it. Wallace is the best athlete, Stevenson is the best physical specimen, and Harper is the most versatile, but none of the three dominates a game and carries his team like Barrett does. What do you think? As a matter of fact, that's our Question of the Day.  Who should be the 5th player in our top five - Barrett, Wallace, Stevenson, or Harper?

Monday, January 10, 2000 - Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat has found that a number of players, including 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, and 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, have recently added schools to their lists.  Starks, who was the MVP at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic, is now considering Clemson and UNLV, along with Miami-FL, Rutgers, and Connecticut.  Myles has added UCLA and Connecticut to a list that already included Wyoming, San Diego State, New Mexico, and Oregon State.  Jira also tells us that Texas and Memphis have gotten involved with Rice, but we also know that Cincinnati is making a late push for his final on-campus visit.  Remember, Rice visited Arkansas, Miami-FL, Mississippi State, and Kentucky last fall, so he only has one official visit left.  However, if Jira were guessing today, he thinks Kentucky is Rice's favorite school.  Bryant visited Kansas, Missouri, California, and Kentucky last fall, but Jira tells us that Michigan is the latest entry.   Duke, Connnecticut, and Arizona also have jumped into the Bryant sweepstakes, but our guess is that this one is still a long way from being done.

Saturday, January 8, 2000 and Sunday, January 9, 2000 - Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY knocked off Louisville (Ballard) KY, 73-68, in overtime in the semi-finals of the Louisville Invitational Tournament (L.I.T.), Saturday morning, but this was no upset.  As a matter of fact, Ballard, which was lucky to escape on Friday night with a three point win over Ashland (Boyd County) KY, has not played well since losing to Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX in the opening round at Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, DE on December 28th.  And adding even more fuel to the fire is that fact that 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender is thinking about going the prep school route next year.  No school was mentioned by Bender's father, who confirmed the rumor, but it would seem only natural that Bender might end up Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Remember, Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith is from the Bluegrass state and both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have done well recruiting his players in recent years.  Getting back to the L.I.T., Pleasure Ridge Park, which also knocked off Ballard in the championship game, a year ago, 77-58, captured their second consecutive title by beating Fairdale, 71-56, Saturday night.  Pleasure Ridge Park has an extremely well rounded team, but the players who impressed us the most were 6'1 Jr Steve Koger, who led the Panthers in scoring in the final three games of the tournament averaging 15.0 ppg, and 5'8 Kenyon Tutt, who was named the tournament MVP.  Also impressing us was 6'3 Jr Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY.  O'Bannon was almost unstoppable inside as he scored 26 points versus Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY, but he needs to continue to improve his perimeter skills if he wants to get recruited at the high Division I level.  The leading scorer on   Friday night was 6'5 Jr Josh Carrier from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, who had 32 points against Fairdale (H.S.) KY.  However, if his outside shot had been falling his team probably wouldn't have gone down to defeat, 53-52.  Carrier says he's getting looks from Louisville, Kentucky, Alabama, and Vanderbilt, but he needs to get bigger, stronger, and quicker to play be successful at that level.  He may lack Carrier's size and he doesn't normally shoot it as well as Carrier, but 6'1 Jr Patrick Sparks from Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY, who had 13 points, is a lot quicker and tougher. He also has the savvy and ballhandling skills to play point guard at the next level, but we're still not sold that he's a high major player.  Neither is 6'4 Tyler Zornes from Ashland (Boyd County) KY.  He's got a good feel for the game, plays hard, and is an excellent 3-pointer shooter, but he's doesn't have much foot speed and quickness, which means he may be hardpressed to even play in the OVC. 

Friday, January 7, 2000 - Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is in the process of revising his rankings and will give us an updated list of the top players in the area sometime later this month or in February. So it is only natural that he would want to give us a sneak preview of the top players in the junior class, which promises to be the next great class from this area.   At the top of the list is 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who also gets our vote as the best player in the nation.  It's a close for second, but 6'2 Jr Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ edges out 6'5 Jr John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA.  Both Allen and Turner rank among our top 20 nationally.  Fourth is 6'6 Jr Samuel Nadeau from Burlington (Life Center) NJ.  If you will recall, Nadeau transferred from Newark (East Side) NJ to Lakewood (Artesia) CA last summer, but that didn't work and, as a result, he's back and Rubin has added to his list.  Fifth, thanks at least in part to a brilliant performance at Slam Dunk to the Beach, is 6'7 Jr Olu Bobalua from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.  Next, is 5'11 Jr Andre Henry from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA, who was named the MVP at the Keystone Roundball Classic in Lebanon, PA and was the Most Outstanding Player in Red Cross Roundball Classic in the Charleston, SC.  After that it's open for debate.   Rubin likes 6'5 Jr Pat Carroll from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA and 6'6 Jr Danny Hinds from Allentown (Central Catholic) PA, but I like 5'8 Jr Cantrell Fletcher from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.   Remember, I saw Fletcher almost singlehandedly take over the game, which is why his team won in overtime, against Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD at Slam Dunk to the Beach.  Also, Rubin doesn't like small guards, unless they shoot it from outside, like 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY or 5'7 Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA.  So Rubin has Carroll ranked #7, Hinds #8, Fletcher #9, and 6'7 Jr Brandon Brigman from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA number #10.  And I don't agree with that one either.  Brigman is bigger and has more potential, so Rubin's reasoning is that he'll get recruited higher than 6'6 Jr Tamal Forchion from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA.   But right now Forchion produces more - he's just a better player.  Also, I'm getting tired of waiting on Brigman to live up to his potential and I question how much heart he has.  In otherwords, merit has to mean something in my book.  Which brings us to our Question of the Day. What do you think should be given more weight when ranking players - college potential or current ability? Remember, not everybody reaches their potential.  A good example was Aminu Timberlake, who was a terrific athlete and very skilled when he was a freshman and sophomore in high school.  However, he never got any better and, as a result, was total bust when he signed with Kentucky and played for Rick Pitino.  On the other hand, somebody like Travis Ford was a great high school players, but based on his lack of size, he had no business playing at Kentucky's level, unless you measure his heart and work ethic, which allowed him to get the most out of his ability.

Thursday, January 6, 2000 - Anybody who doubts that the University of Virginia, which off to a 9-4 start, is one of the fastest rising programs in college basketball, needs to look no further than last night.  In case you hadn't heard, the Cavaliers took Duke to overtime, before losing to the Blue Devils 109-100.  If that's not evidence enough, two of Virginia's big guns last night were freshman - 6'7 Travis Watson had 17 points and 6'5 Roger Mason came off the bench to score 22 points.  Virginia only signed one player last fall - 6'5 Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, but they've done a great job of getting in involved with sophomores and juniors, as has been evident by the number of players they've had on campus this fall and winter for unofficial visits.  As a matter of fact, Young was there last night, along with 6'4 Soph J.J. Riddick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport School) MD, 6'3 Jr Jermaine Harper from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, and 6'1 Jr Tony Bethel from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD.   Virginia also is believed to be one of the early favorites for 6'7 Jr Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, as well as a number of the other good young players who play for Boo Williams on his Hampton Roads club team.  And it has been well documented that former UVA All-American Ralph Sampson is the uncle of 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who ranks among the top 10 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  And if that wasn't enough of a connection, when Virginia head coach Pete Gillen was an assistant almost 20 years ago at Notre Dame, he helped Gary McKnight get the head coaching job at Mater Dei. So it should come as no surprise when we tell that McKnight has a great deal of loyalty toward Gillen.

Wednesday, January 5, 2000 - Well, we didn't expect #1 ranked Chicago (Westinghouse) IL to get knocked off this soon.  But that's exactly what happened last night when Chicago (Curie) IL stunned Westinghouse, 50-49, in what was the Public League Red West opener for both schools.  With this loss, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA will probably move back up to #1 in the USA Today poll, followed by Marion (H.S.) IN at #2.   Speaking of Marion, we checked with our Indiana Editor Jim Kasberg today and sure enough, he thinks the best team in the state is Bloomington (North) IN, not Marion.  So forget about wins and losses.  The best team we've seen is Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, followed by Louisville (Ballard) KY and Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  We haven't seen New York (Rice) NY, but they're probably right there, too, despite the two losses before Christmas in Oregon.  And of course, Compton (Dominguez) CA deserves some consideration after they knocked off Lakewood (Artesia) CA last week in the Best of the West Invitational. As a matter of fact, if you take Eddie Oliver's consensus of three high school polls - The USA Today poll by Dave Krider, the Prep Poll by Doug Huff of the Wheeling West Virginia Intelligenzer, and Oliver's Hoops USA poll - Dominguez comes out on top.  However, Oliver doesn't include prep schools.  So he has a separate cateory for Oak Hill, along with Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, which all fall into this separate category.  However, by definition, a prep school takes fifth year players.  Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, Winchendon (School) MA, and Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA are among the elite schools that fall into this category.   However, Oak Hill, Montrose Christian, Mt. Zion Christian, Northwest Christian, and Limestone (Washington (College) TN don't fall into this category and after several interesting debates with Oliver while at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic before Christmas, Oliver, is now calling this the Four Year Prep and/or Boarding School Ratings.  All this brings us to a very interesting question, which we are making the Question of the Day.  Should schools like Oak Hill, Montrose Christian, Mt. Zion Christian, Northwest Christian, and Washington College, which obviously get players from all over the nation and abroad, be included among the national high school rankings.  Remember, these schools don't have any 5th year players on their roster and, as a result, are eligible to compete against regular high schools even though some, like Oliver, think they have an unfair recruiting advantage.    

Tuesday, January 4, 2000 - Today, The USA Today came out with Dave Krider's weekly top 25 poll, which is as follows:  1) Chicago (Westinghouse) IL (11-0), 2) Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (13-1), 3) Marion (H.S.) IN (10-0), 4) Portland (Jefferson) OR (8-0), 5) Compton (Dominguez) CA (12-2), 6) Lakewood (Artesia) CA (11-1), 7) West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ (4-1), 8) Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX (18-1), 9) Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA (15-1), 10) Louisville (Ballard) KY (12-1), 11) Gainesville (H.S.) FL (11-1), 12) New York (Rice) NY (7-2), 13) Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD (11-1), 14) Flint (Northwestern) MI (4-0), 15) Lincroft (Christian Brothers) NJ (6-0), 16) Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA (8-2), 17) Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD (7-2), 18) Fresno (Clovis West) CA (18-2), 19) Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC (8-2), 20) Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN (6-0), 21) Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA (14-2), 22) St. Louis (Vashon) MO (9-1), 23) Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC (9-2), 24) Denver (East) CO (4-2), 25) Duncanville (H.S.) TX (6-3).  While Krider is a great guy, hard worker, and great gatherer of information, he has missed the boat big time.  How can he have Marion ranked #3 in the nation?   Maybe he could make an argument that Marion should be ranked among the top 10 nationally, because he had them too high early and they have yet to lose.  But to move Marion any higher than he already had them (#8 last week) is ridiculous, especially after he saw them in St. Louis at the KMOX Shootout.  As a matter of fact, Marion wasn't even one of the best teams we saw in St. Louis nor is Marion the best team in Indiana.  All this is important, because if Westinghouse and Oak Hill both get beat, Marion could end up #1 in the nation and that would be an absolute joke.  I also have to question how Mater Dei is ranked ahead of Ballard.  They both have only one loss and Ballard murdered the same team - Miami (Northwest Christian) FL - in the same tournament - the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic - a day after Northwest Christian gave Mater Dei a needed awake up call.  Doesn't merit mean anything and does everything have depend upon where you start pre-season?  I have personally seen six of Krider's top 10 teams, as well as four others that are ranked among his top 25, so I do have a lot of first hand knowledge.  Let's start with Montrose Christian, which is extremely well coached, but not very impressive, as they went 1-1 at Slam Dunk to the Beach.  Even worse, Seventy-First was 1-2 at Slam Dunk to the Beach.   At least Krider didn't put Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) OK, which beat Seventy-First in the first round of the tournament, 35-34, in what might be the ugliest game I've ever seen.  Where is Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, which took Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX to the wire at Slam Dunk to the Beach en route to an impressive third place finish.  And where is Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, which might be the gutsiest team in America?  Remember, that was the team that beat Denver East, 80-49, in the first round of the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic.  Denver East also lost another game in Florida, but they're still in the top 25, while Northwest Christian, which knocked off Mater Dei on night and then outplayed Ballard for a half   in the championship, doesn't get a mention.  Is something wrong here?   While I've told Krider on numerous occasions that ranking teams is much harder than ranking players and that I'd never do what he does, he's got a major problem that needs to be addressed.  I don't have the answers, but maybe together we can offer some insight via our Question of the Day.   

Monday, January 3, 2000 - Yesterday at the Apollo at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was among the crowd of 9,300 who saw Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA beat Camden (H.S.) NJ, 72-47.  Unfortunately, it was not one of the better efforts for 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner, who has been out for over a month with a broken finger.  Wagner only scored eights points, as he hit only 4-23 field goals.  Instead, the hero for Camden was 6'7 Arthur Barclay, who had 17 points and 20 rebounds (13 offensive - mostly off Wagner misses).  It comes as no surprise that the best player in game was 6'9 Eddie Griffin, who had 29 points, six rebounds, five blocks, and nine dunks.  Rubin also was impressed by 6'4 Mike Wild, who hit 4-5 3-pointers and had 16 points and 10 assists, and 6'5 Jr Tamal Forchion, who redeemed himself after a weak showing last week at Slam Dunk to the Beach, with 12 points and eight rebounds.  Among those in attendance were a number of pro scouts and coaches, including Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach John Calipari.   Speaking of  Calipari, we continue to hear Calipari mentioned with the Memphis job, but another possibility might be Georgia Tech.  Remember, Georgia Tech is currently 6-4 and has struggled recently to beat Morehead State and Wofford at home and, as a result, a lot of people think head coach Bobby Cremins is in trouble.  We hope not, because we think he has an excellent chance to fix all his problems with an excellent recruiting class next fall that has the potential to include Wagner, 6'2 Jr  Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr Josh Pace from Griffin (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Jr Josh Powell from Riverdale (H.S.) GA, and a number of other players in the state of Georgia outstanding junior class.  And that brings us to our Question of the Day. Do you think Cremins is in trouble or will he survive the storm?

Saturday, January 1, 2000 and Sunday, January 2, 2000 - After winning Slam Dunk to the Beach on Thursday night, it will be very interesting to see where Dave Krider has Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX ranked in his next USA Today poll, which is due to out on Tuesday, January 4th.  Remember, Krider didn't even have Willowridge ranked last week.  Neither did the National Prep Poll.  However, Eddie Oliver, the publisher of Hoops USA, looks like a genius right now, because he had Willowridge ranked #8 nationally last week prior to their impressive performance in Lewes, DE.  There probably isn't a better team in the nation right now and Willowridge starts four juniors, so it will be extremely interesting to follow their progress the rest of this year, as well as next year.   Getting back to Oliver, he not only publishes HoopsUSA, which is a quarterly report full of interesting information regarding high school and college basketball.  Everything from CONSENSUS Ratings of Teams and Players, recruiting information, camps, etc. is included in the reports.  The cost of an annual subscription is only $ 25, which includes the annual Tournament and Events Report sent out in late November .  The Tournament and Events report can also be purchased separately at $15.  Oliver was the former Executive Director of the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC, before deciding to devote his extra time to other interests.  The teams and players he recruited for tournaments make up a Who’s Who of Top Talent.  Included are eight players who were named National Player of the Year.  Thirty of those players are now standouts in the NBA and many more are Major College stars.  Five of the teams he recruited went on to win National High School Championships.  Oliver has been a recreation Athletic Director for more than thirty years.  He serves as a member of the McDonald’s All-American Advisory Committee and is a consultant and advisor to many of the nation’s top holiday tournaments and events.  He can be reached at (H) 843-650-7222,  (W) 843-280-5605,  (FAX) 843-650-7222, or  (EMAIL) ozone@sccoast.net.  All this important for two reasons:  First, nobody knows about the high school teams than Oliver, so it is only natural that he publishes his own weekly ranking of the top 25 high school teams, which can be gotten exclusively via email.  Anybody interested in subscribing can contact him by using one of the options above.  Second, he has saved me a lot of time and energy by already putting together a report from all the major events that took place over the holiday.  You can get all this information by clicking on Holiday Tourney Results.

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