TODAY'S HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION

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Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Within the last several days 6'3 Lewis Clinch from Cordale (Crisp County) GA verbally committed to Georgia Tech, 6'6 Alex Ruoff from Brookville (Central) FL verbally commitment to West Virginia, 6'6 Larry Gurganious from Berkeley (St. Mary's) CA verbally committed to Gonzaga, 5'8 Maurice Acker from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL verbally committed to Ball State, 6'3 George Drake from Calera (H.S.) AL verbally committed to Vanderbilt, and 7'0 Jr Jonathan Kreft from Parkland (Marjory Stoneman Douglas) FL made an early verbal commitment to Florida State.  Obviously the verbal commitment by Clinch is huge for the Yellowjackets, because he's a great athlete, an excellent 3-point shooter, a legitimate top 50-100 senior nationally, and somebody in their backyard.  In other words, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt landed the ideal replacement for 6'4 Sr B.J. Elder, who will graduate after next season, as well as an excellent complement to 6'9 Alade Aminu from Stone Mountain (Stephenson) GA, who does not rank among our top 100 nationally right now, but is just oozing with potential.  So it's easy to see why Georgia Tech's recruiting class has moved into a tie at #28, along with Arizona, on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And they may not be done yet, as the Yellowjackets also are among the leaders for 6'6 C.J. Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX and 6'8 Kevin Rogers from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX.  But, as things stand now, Kansas appears to be the favorite for Rogers, who is expected to visit Georgia Tech the first weekend in September, Arizona the third weekend in September, and Kansas the last weekend in September, and Miles' final five are Kansas, Arizona, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Texas.  Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report tells us that Purdue, Virginia Tech, Missouri, Toledo, and Northwestern are showing the most interest in 6'3 Nate Minnoy from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL and our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson reports that the final two for 6'9 Cyrus McGowan from Meridian (H.S.) MS are Georgia Tech and Mississippi State.  However, when it comes to McGowan, the smart money is on the Bulldogs.  Remember, Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury doesn't lose many in his backyard.  Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio and our Philadelphia/South Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania Editor Allen Rubin both are telling us that Maine assistant coach Ted Woodward will be the guy who replaces John Giannini, who a week-and-a-half ago got the La Salle job, at the helm of the Black Bears.  And we find this amazing, because, by hiring Woodward, Maine will be passing on Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo, Bryant College head coach Max Good, and Villanova assistant coach Fred Hill, all three of whom are overqualified for the job.  Naclerio also tells us that Siena assistant coach Steve Seymour and East Carolina assistant coach Dino Presley, both of whom have strong Philly ties, will become part of Giannini's staff at La Salle.  It also appears that 6'6 Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, who was listed as a high school senior last season, is not a 5th Year Player.  Instead, we're being told that Smith will be starting his 7th Semester of high school this fall and, as a result, should be listed as a senior.  We also have done some research and want to take a minute to catch you up on a number of verbal commitments that have slipped through the crack in recent months.  The list includes 6'5 Terrell Eargle from Youngstown (Austintown-Fitch) OH, who has verbally committed to Akron, but first is heading to a prep school in South Carolina; 6'7 Sean Raboin from New Hampton (Prep) NH to Towson State; 6'4 Bryan Moten from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'6 Donald Cloutier from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, and Andre Ricks from Detroit (Pershing) MI all to Western Michigan; 6'4 Jr Kerwin Dunham from Bondurant (Farrar) IA, 6'4 Travis Brown from Richfield (H.S.) MN, and 6'8 Anthony Davis from Clarinda (H.S.) IA all to Northern Iowa; 6'2 Dodie Dunson from Bloomington (H.S.) IL and 6'2 Brandon Holtz from Bloomington (H.S.) IL both to Illinois State; 6'3 Jr Grant Leiendecker from Ft. Wayne (Homestead) IL to Butler; 7'1 Matt Hewson from Woodbridge (C.D. Hylton) VA to Delaware; 6'2 Sean Smiley from Erie (McDowell) PA, 6'10 Cem Dinc from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, and 6'3 Greg Gamble from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY all to Buffalo; 6'0 Josh Dotzler from Bellevue (West) NE to Creighton; 6'3 Jamel White from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to Nebraska; 6'4 Ray Murdock from Phoenix (Pinnacle) AZ to San Diego; 6'6 Matt Lawrence from Wildwood (Lafayette) MO to Missouri; 6'8 Jay Tunnell from Topeka (East) KS to Indiana State; 6'4 John David Gardner from Homewood (H.S.) AL to UNC-Wilmington; 6'9 Justin Howerton from Howe (H.S.) TX to Texas A&M; 6'1 Kevin Lisch from Belleville (Althoff) IL to Saint Louis; 6'4 Billy Parrish from Naperville (Neuqua Valley) IL to Eastern Illinois; 6'2 Caleb Skogen from Chattanooga (Temple) TN to Mercer; 6'8 Brandon Moore from Bethel (Spanaway) WA to Eastern Washington; 6'3 Robbie Sisca from Weston (H.S.) CT to Vermont; 6'10 Arden Skoglund from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN to Valparaiso; 6'2 Eric Maynor from Fayetteville (Westover) NC and 6'4 T.J. Gwynn from Burlington (Cummings) NC both to Virginia Commonwealth; 5'11 Jason Holsinger from Lapel (H.S.) IN to Evansville; and 6'6 Derrick Moore from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'0 Justin Fuehrmeyer from St. Charles (Francis Howell Central) MO, and 6'0 Shane Laurie from Springfield (Kickapoo) MO all to Southwest Missouri State.

It looks like 6'8 Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ redeemed himself this past week at Five-Star's Honesdale II session, which featured most of the top players in the East, as he took home camp MVP honors and reestablished himself as one of the premier inside players still available in the senior class nationally.  If you will recall, Biggs was ranked #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP prior to the start of the summer, but played so poorly in July that he was our leading candidate for the most Disappointing Player-of-the-Summer honors.  But, instead of trying to do too much on the perimeter, it appears that at this camp Biggs went back to doing what he does best and took care of business inside.  However, the most impressive performance all week was turned in by 6'4 Stephon Jackson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who connected on eight 3-pointers and scored 44 points, which is a Five-Star-Honedale Orange-White All-Star Game record, in the Orange-White All-Star Game.  Jackson, who is ranked #35 our list of the Top 5th Year Players, was the recipient of many passes from 5'11 Kevin White from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, who, along with 6'0 Greg Johnson from Plymouth (Holderness) NH, was named the co-Best Playmaker for the week in the NBA, which is league in which most of the top juniors and seniors in camp participate.  The Best Defender was 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas, who appears to be transferring from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ to Newark (St. Benedict) NJ.  The Best Rebounder was 6'8 Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ.  The Most Improved was 6'0 Terrance Grier from Cranford (H.S.) NJ, who currently is ranked #51 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, and the Playoff MVP was 6'4 Delroy James from White Plains (Southern Maryland Christian) MD.  James, who is the younger brother of 6'9 Shaun James from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and previously was at Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, also was a runner-up, along with 6'3 Jr Steve Kendall from St. George (Blue Ridge School) VA, for the prestigious Mr. Station 13 Award.  And that's important, because anybody who religiously attends of Five-Star's optional teaching station obviously has the burning desire necessary to get better.  The four players who shared the Station 13 Award were 6'8 James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'1 Sean McCurdy from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'6 Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and 6'4 Craig Moore from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ and, as a result, we have to assume that Five-Star Camp director Howard Ginfinkel was happy with this group.  Remember, Garfinkel always stresses how important the teaching is at Five-Star and it's obvious that a lot players went the extra mile to improve their game.  Speaking of Moore, soon-to-be Oakland University assistant coach Devon Smith, who worked the camp and deserves an assist for some of the information in this report, thought he was the best 3-point shooter in camp.  And this is good news for Northwestern University, because Moore is rumored to be close to making a verbal commitment to the Wildcats.  The Most Promising Prospect, which always goes to the top underclassman in camp, went to 6'5 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and one of the best athletes, as well as the leaper in camp was 6'5 Kevin Payton from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  We also understand that the two leaders for 6'8 Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) CT are N.C. State and Kansas and that 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE arrived late to camp, after visiting and verbally committing to Duke earlier this week, and still made the White All-Star Team, along with 6'5 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) CT, 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'6 Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'0 Greg Johnson from Plymouth (Holderness) NH, 6'1 Jr Luis Guzman from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'7 Jr Terrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'5 Kevin Payton from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'0 Jr Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, and 6'1 Sean McCurdy from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  The Orange All-Star Team included 6'8 Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'9 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'7 Jr Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, 6'8 Gerald Inman from Montvale (St. Joseph's) NY, 6'6 Jaron Griffin from Manchester (H.S.) NJ, 5'10 Jr James Bryant from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, 6'4 Craig Moore from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, and 6'8 Jr Jabari Edwards from Brooklyn (Poly Prep) NY.  The alternate for the Orange Team was 6'3 Jamel White from Laurinburg (Institute) NC and alternate for the White Team was 5'11 Terrence Grier from Cranford (H.S.) NJ.  The Most Outstanding Player in the Developmental League was 6'5 Soph Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'8 Soph Malik Boothe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY edged out 5'10 Soph Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY for top playmaker honors, and the Best Rebounder in the Developmental League in 6'9 Soph Brandon Waters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  

Saturday, August 28, 2004, Sunday, August 29, 2004, & Monday, August 30, 2004

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'7 Shane Clark from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA has decided to renege on Villanova University and, as a result, has re-opened his recruitment.  And making the story even more ironic is the fact that 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, who is one of the Clark's best friends and former teammates, decided to follow in Clark's footsteps and now is enrolled at Villanova.  If you will recall, Clark made an early verbal commitment to the Wildcats over a year ago and our guess is that this athletic combo forward simply wants to be recruited.  However, this does open the door for schools like Syracuse, Xavier, Rhode Island, La Salle, Temple, and St. Joseph's, which were the schools that showed the most early interest, to get back involved.  We also have confirmed that 7'0 Jonathan Huffman from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL has verbally committed to the University of Louisville, which means that's Duke's run with the #1-ranked recruiting class, after landing 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE last week, was a very short-lived one.  Apparently Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino thinks Huffman can become another Narz Mohammed, but we think Huffman is more like Walter McCarty.  In other words, we're talking about a 6'11 finesse player who would rather shoot 3-pointers and drift around on the perimeter than take care of business inside.  Huffman also isn't nearly as good as Mohammed, who was ranked #100 nationally in the Class of 1995 by the HOOP SCOOP, and McCarty, who was ranked among the top 25 seniors nationally in 1992 by the HOOP SCOOP.  As a matter of fact, Huffman did not make our list of the top 50 players overall or the top 20 players at his position at the Reebok ABCD Camp nor is he good enough right now be ranked among our top 200 seniors nationally.  So we have to question whether this was a good move, if Huffman is getting the Cardinals' sixth and final scholarship, as he's not ready to step in next year and be Francisco Garcia's replacement, if Garcia decides to forgo his final year of college and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.   But this could be a good catch, if Pitino decides to role the scholarship dice and sign a wing forward who is capable of stepping in and contributing immediately as a freshman year after next.  And some of the players who fit that description include 6'6 Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'5 Brian Harvey from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'6 Marcus Williams from Seattle (Roosevelt) WA, 6'4 Ricky Torres from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 6'4 Edwin Lashley from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT.  We also have confirmed via our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson that 6'7 Derrick Brown from Dayton (Chaminade-Julienne) OH, who is the second best senior in the state and a borderline top 100 senior nationally, has verbally committed to Xavier.  And this is big for the Musketeers for a number of reasons.   First, it means that the new coaching staff has picked up right where the old one left off in terms of recruiting and perpetuating the program.  Second, with 6'6Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'7 Josh Duncan from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH and 6'2 Stan Burrell from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA already signed, sealed, and delivered from last year's recruiting class and Brown and 6'6 Ben Raymond from Toledo (St. John's) OH both already in the fold for this year, the Musketeers have already replaced Romain Sota, Lionel Chalmers, and Anthony Myles, who were the driving force behind their Elite Eight finish in the NCAA Tournament and graduated last spring.  Third, the addition of Brown reinforces the fact that Xavier can recruiting the top players in their own backyard, as is evident by the fact that Raymond is ranked #1 and Brown is ranked #2 in the state's senior class by Johnson.   Fourth, the addition of Brown moves Xavier's recruiting class into a tie at #32, along with the College of Charleston and Michigan State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   Fifth, getting Brown immediately following his official visit over the weekend shows that Musketeers head coach Sean Miller and his staff are tough to beat once they've gotten a kid on campus and turn the heat up.  We also have confirmed that William & Mary has beaten out schools like Holy Cross, Colgate, and Bucknell for 6'8 Chris Darnell from Stafford (North Stafford) VA.  We've talking about a combo-forward with skills, athleticism, and smarts, as is evident by the fact he's an excellent student (over a 1200 on the SAT) and plays like a coach's son (which he is).  However, Darnell, who impressed us enough at the NIKE All-American Camp, to be ranked among our top 300 seniors nationally, does need to get bigger and stronger phyically, as right now he checks in at 6'8, 190 lbs.  The fact that he is an in-state kid (currently William & Mary has only two players from Virginia on their roster) is just an added bonus. 

Friday, August 27, 2004

One of my favorite questions when I'm talking to somebody in the business is who's our competition?  Obviously I want to know what other people think, but part of this also stems from the fact that I rarely have time to go to other people's web sites and just see what's out there on the internet.   Instead, I gather information the old-fashioned way, whereby, I get a call if something happens and, if I think something might be going to happen, I start making calls.  I bring this up, because I firmly believe that Vince Baldwin & John Stovall are two other hardest working and most knowledgeable people in the business and, as a result, that translates in the fact that PrepSpotlight.com has emerged into our biggest competition.  As a matter of fact, Baldwin told me at the 14-Under National AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL that he would be on the road this summer 42 of 45 days from a period extending from late June into early August.  Then, later that same week, I saw Stovall at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA.   And this is important, because by this time most of our competition had packed it in and gone home.  However, by going the extra mile, Baldwin and Stovall have gotten a tremendous head-start on the future (just like us) and they us provide with valuable insight that even we can't get anywhere else.  I bring this up, not just because I like to give just credit where it is due, but also because I've updated our page that lists our Favorite Links and it didn't just happen that in the top left-hand corner of the page, where most of the important national recruiting web sites are found, is a link to PrepSpotlight.com.  Another guy who we have a great deal of respect for and who is another one of the hardest working people in the business is Dave Telep and, thus explains why we have his sight listed right below PrepSpotlight.com and above of SoCalHoops, which is a regional site, but is loaded with useful information, PrepStars.com, HoopMasters.com (Van Coleman & Bob Gibbons), CollegeBasketball News, RivalsHoops.com, GregSwaim.com, and HoopsUSA.com.  And, even further down in this column are links to web sites that provide a list of most Division I school and all Division I conference web sites, which can be found by clicking on Collegiate Web Sites and College Athletic Conferences, as well as a link to Newspapers.com, Official site of the NCAA, Official site of the NJCAA, and Official site of the NBA.  It also should come as no surprise that the HOOP SCOOP On-Radio, which is the hottest recruiting weekly radio show that you can find anywhere, is right at the top of the page in the second column, ahead of Full Court Press, which is a public relations tool for Dinos Trigonis; Big Apple Sports and JucoJunction.com, which are the two best web sites for junior college information; NewYorkCityNewJersey High School Hoops and Redmen.com, both of which are a must if you are interested in high school and college basketball in New York City; and a number of web sites that cover specific areas and/or teams from New England to Florida and then back up through Alabama and Tennessee to Kentucky.  It also should come as no surprise that right at the top of the third column are links to Broadcastmonsters.com, which is the company that broadcasts the HOOP SCOOP On-Radio every Sunday night 10:00 PM until Midnight, and VisionSports.com, which is the public relations tool for Hal Pastner and all his events and tournaments, followed by the official links to some of the premier holiday tournaments in the nation, like the Beach Ball Classic, City of Palms Classic, Slam Dunk to the Beach, and Kingdom of the Sun National Invitational Tournament, and a number of web sites that cover specific areas and/or teams in the Midwest and West.  The last column is headed by Five-Star Basketball Camp, because, like so many people in the business, Howard Garfinkel helped me when I first starting out in the business.  And, next comes Five-Star's biggest rival, the Hoop Group, which also does a tremendous job of both teaching and running events and tournaments; the adidas Junior Phenom Camp; the official web site for AAU; the web site for the Cage Scope/High Potential "Blue Chip" Basketball Camp, which is the best camp in the Midwest; and web sites for a multitude of other things.  In all we have links to 83 web sites and they all are current and update.  Many of them we've had links to for years, but just recently added some new ones that are worth checking out, like PrepSpotlight.com, TennesseePrep.com, IllinoisPrepBulls-eye.com, Oregon Live, Northwest Hoops, and International Scouting Service.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

It really was more a question of when than if 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE would pick Duke, so yesterday it came as no surprise when this athletic big man cast his lot with the Blue Devils.  And this is important, because it shows that Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has not lost his touch, as the addition of Boateng gives the Blue Devils not one, not two, but three inside players in this recruiting class who are potential McDonald's All-American's.  If you will recall, Duke's recruiting class also already includes 6'10 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, and 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA and, with the addition of Boateng, it moves up to #1, just ahead of Louisville, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Making the story even more interesting is the fact that the Blue Devils also appear to be one of the final three, along with UCLA and Washington, for 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA, who will be ranked #11 nationally in the senior class when we publish our rankings of the Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005 either late this week or early next week.  And, if the Krzyzewski and his staff pull this off, it would be a supreme coup, because this not only would make Duke tough to beat in our final analysis of the Top Recruiting Classes for 2005, but it also would give the Blue Devils for inside players to necessary to replace 6'9 Jr Sheldon Williams and 6'10 Jr Shavlik Randolph, who will graduate year after next, and, as a result, remain one of the premier programs in college basketball for a long time.   However, we still think that may be easier said than done, which is why we are now calling UCLA the favorite for Brockman.  And there are several reasons why we think UCLA will win this battle over the the University of Washington, despite the fact Brockman expressed a desire to stay close to home.  First, 6'1 Mitchell Johnson from Seattle (O'Dea) WA, who is close friends, as well as the teammate of Brockman on the Friends of Hoop-Seattle team, recently verbally committed to Stanford.  If you will recall, we thought, if Washington could get Johnson, that might be the deciding factor that would tip the Huskies over the top with Brockman.  Second, the University of Washington athletic department is still recovering from a string of scandals in recent years that earlier this cost the athletic director her job.  Third, the one missing piece to the puzzle at UCLA is a tough hardnosed competitor inside.  If you you will recall, they signed 6'5 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, and 6'9 Lorenzo Mata from Southgate (H.S.) CA in last year's recruiting class, but still need a power forward who is ready to step in and play immediately.  And Brockman, who is a killer on the boards and almost unstoppable offensively when gets the ball around the basket, thanks to his deceptive athleticism, high skill level, and surprising mobility, appears to be tailer made for second year head coach Ben Howland, who made a living with the same type of players when he was at Pittsburgh.  As a matter of fact, the only difference is that Brockman is a lot better than anybody Howland had a Pittsburgh.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Alonzo Gee from West Palm Beach (Dwyer) FL has verbally committed to the University of Alabama.  And this is huge, because Mark Gottfried already has a plethora of good big men and guards in the program, but needed another wing player to replace 6'6 Jr Kennedy Winston.  And Gee, who became one of the fastest rising players in the nation after he took home tournament MVP honors when the Tallahassee Wildcats won the adidas tournament in Suwanee, GA in early July, is exactly what the doctor ordered, because he's a big time athlete who can both shoot the outside jumper and slasher to the basket with the best of them.  And making this catch even more impressive is the fact that the Crimon Tide beat schools like Florida, Florida State, and Miami-FL for one of their prime targets right in the own backyard.  This comes right on the heels of the verbal commitment by 6'9 Yamene Coleman from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, who verbally committed the Crimson Tide three days ago.  And, if the Alabama coaching staff also can wrap up 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, who is a consensus top five senior nationally and will be visiting Tuscaloosa, AL this weekend, then we would be talking about the best recruiting class that Gottfried has landed since arriving at Alabama six year ago.   Remember, they already have 6'3 Ray George from Georgia Perimeter (JC) GA and 6'9 Yamene Coleman from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL in the fold and, with the addition of Gee, their class moves up to #10 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, if they also get Hendrix, their class would move up to #3, behind Duke and Louisville and ahead of North Carolina, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Mississippi, Georgia, and Memphis, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Soph Devon Evertsen is transferring from Boston College to Fordham, which means that season after next Rams head coach Dereck Whittenburg should be one of the stocked teams in the Atlantic-10 Conference at both forward spots with Evertsen, 6'8 Sebastian Greene from Lafayette (Central Catholic) IN, 6'8 Bryant Dunston from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, and 6'7 Michael Binns from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.

Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Last night the University of Alabama received a verbal commitment from 6'9 Yamene Coleman from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL and this is important for a number of reasons.  First, getting Coleman shows the that Crimson Tide are as strong as ever in terms of recruiting in the own backyard.   Second, Coleman has a huge upside and, as a result, he gives the Crimson Tide yet another good young inside player in the program to go along with 6'10 Soph Jemario Davidson, 6'9 Frosh Akini Adkins, and 6'11 Frosh Shawn Taylor.  Third, the addition of Coleman moves Alabama's recruiting class into a tie at #18, along with LSU and Oklahoma, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Fourth, Coleman does not rank among our top 100 nationally right now and, as a result, is not good enough to scare off 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL.  However, Coleman and 6'3 Ray George from Georgia Perimeter (JC) GA, who will be one of the top junior college two guards in the nation this coming season, are good enough to give Mark Gottfried and his staff the momentum that they need to convince Hendrix, who will be ranked #4 nationally in the senior class when we publish our updated rankings later this week, to pick Alabama over North Carolina.  As a matter of fact, we would not be surprised if Hendrix does exactly that this weekend while on his official visit to Tuscaloosa, AL.  And, even if Hendrix decides to drag it out a little longer, because he does not want to make it look like the commitment earlier this week by 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO to North Carolina forced his hand, we still think Hendrix will pick the Crimson Tide.   Remember, Hendrix's aunt was one of the first black people to ever enroll at and graduate from the University of Alabama.  And, if that we're even of a recruiting advantage for the Crimson Tide, a majority of the people in Hendrix's family also have their college degree from the University of Alabama.  So when this does happen, look for Alabama's recruiting class to move up to #4, behind Louisville, Duke, and North Carolina and ahead of Marquette and Oklahama State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  But even more important, getting Hendrix should give Gottfried what should be the final pieces to the puzzle year after next.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that Alabama lost to Connecticut in the NCAA Elite this past March.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that it appears that new Marist head coach Matt Brady has hit the jackpot by landing 6'11 Marco Vucajnk from Slovenia.  Not only does Vucajnk have the size, skills, and potential necessary to develop into one of the better players in the Metro Atlantic Conference, but he will be eligible right away and, as a result, counts as a late addition to Marist's 2003-2004 recruiting class, which also included 6'5 Ben Farmer from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'4 Kaylen Gregory from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and 6'7 Shae McNamara from Milwaukee (Marquette) WI.  Rubin also has the scoop on 6'3 Scott Rodgers from Philadelphia (Central) PA, who has verbally to Drexel; 6'7 Brian Connelly from Camden (Catholic) NJ, who has verbally committed to Albany; 6'3 Andrew Pusar from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, who has verbally committed to Harvard; and 5'9 Chris Andrews from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, who has verbally committed to Yale.  Rubin also tells us that the final five for 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE are Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Villanova; the list for 6'4 Ed Lashley from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, includes St. Joseph's, St. John's, Boston College, College of Charleston, Drexel, East Carolina, Kent State, Miami-FL, Louisville, and Georgia Tech; 6'7 David Bell is transferring from La Salle to East Carolina, where he will join other Philadelphia area products Mike Cook, Marvin Kilgore, and Charles Bronson; and 6'5 John Holmes, who previously was supposed to be a 5th Year Player and was heading to Pottstown (The Hill School) PA, is now heading to Iowa Western (JC) IA.  Speaking of 5th Year Players, earlier today we published our initial list of the Top 5th Year Players for the Class of 2005 and we will continue to update it as more information and names become available.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that seven of the top dozen players on the list are already verbally committed, as 6'9 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC is heading to Memphis, 6'7 Gerald Green from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX is heading to Oklahoma State, 6'7 Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA is heading to Villanova, 6'8 Jonathan Kale from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI is heading to Providence, 6'6 Jeff Adrian from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH is heading to Connecticut, 6'5 Antonio Anderson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME is heading Memphis, and 6'9 Carl Swanigan from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL is heading to Mississippi, and the top dozen players -  6'11 Andray Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, Williams, Green, Clark, 6'9 Vernon Goodridge from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'6 Sam Young from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, Kale, 6'6 Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Leo Criswell from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, Adrian, Anderson, and Swanigan - all would be ranked among our top 40 high school seniors, if we included 5th Year Players with our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005.   Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'5 Jr D'Andre Bell from Los Angeles (Palisades) CA will visit Georgetown on September 7th, Georgia Tech on September 14th, and Michigan State sometime after his first two official visits.  However, Trigonis also notes that UCLA, Syracuse, UNLV, USC, Oregon State, and Washington State are showing interest in Bell, who has top 100 potential nationally.  Trigonis also tipped us off sometime ago about the probability that 6'7 Joe Darger from Riverton (H.S.) UT would verbally commit to UNLV and tomorrow appears to be the day that he will make it official.  We also mentioned a-week-and-a-half ago that it was premature to write down Northeastern head coach Ronnie Everhart as the next assistant coach at Cincinnati.  And, once again, it looks like we were right on the money, because Everhart, who has four years remaining on his current contract and has four starters returning from a team that was 19-11 overall and 13-5 in the America East this past season, has taken himself out of the running.  Instead, it looks like Northeastern assistant coach Frank Martin has emerged as the leading candidate to fill Dan Peters old spot at Cincinnati.  And this too is crystal ball stuff, because that's who we said Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins should hire, if Everhart doesn't take the job. 

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

As expected, 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO verbally committed to North Carolina yesterday and, as a result, the Tar Heels recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA and 6'3 Bobby Fraser from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, has moved up to #3, right behind Duke, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  As a matter of fact, this race is almost too close to call, as only one point separates the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels and, if Hansbrough were ranked #5, instead of #6, on our list of the Top Seniors Nationally in the Class of 2005, which will be published later this week, it would be a tie.  And, if the Tar Heels also land 6'9 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA, and/or 6'11 Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ and/or Duke lands Brockman, Bynum, and 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, then either or both could move ahead of Louisville, which currently has the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  We also believe that Texas Tech is extremely close to landing 6'10 Kenneth Cooper from Monroe (Richwood) LA and this makes perfect sense, because the Red Raiders already have a verbal commitment from Cooper's teammate - 6'5 Terry Martin from Monroe (Richwood) LA.  And, assuming that we are correct and Cooper does make it official for Texas Tech sometime in the near future, it would move their recruiting class, which currently is ranked #14 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 and also already includes 6'8 Justin Wilkerson from Greenville (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Michael Prince from Plano (West) TX, 6'7 Dazzmond Thornton from Denver (East) CO, and 6'7Jeremy Buttel from Colleyville (Heritage) TX, up to #9, behind Louisville, Duke, North Carolina, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Mississippi, and Georgia on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, while not one of these players rank among our top 100 seniors nationally, Wilkerson, Martin, and Cooper are close, plus they are extremely coachable and all have huge upsides. When you also add the fact that will be back for three more years 6'1 Soph Jay Jackson from Monroe (Ouachita Parish) LA and 6'5 Martin Zeno from Baton Rouge (Sulphur) LA, 6'8 Dimir Suljagic from Tucson (Salpointe) AZ,and 6'8 Phil Harbaugh from Corvallis (H.S.) OR will just be freshmen at Texas Tech this year, several other things become obvious.   First, the Red Raiders have a strong pipeline into both the city of Monroe and the state of Louisiana.  Second, they are building the program from the ground up, instead of upon junior college players, as Cooper would become the 10th high school player that Bob Knight and his staff have landed in the last year-and-a-half.   Third, they're building a strong nucleus that will be together for several years and, as a result, the Red Raiders appear to be only one or two great players away from having all the necessary pieces in a couple of years.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also tells us that Louisville-bound 6'7 Lamar Roberson from Compton (Dominguez) CA is now planning on enrolling at Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, which is interesting, because that's the same school that 6'11 James Lang, who verbally committed to Louisville two years ago, but ended up by-passing college and entering his name into the NBA Draft in the spring of 2003, attended and is the a same school that 7'0 Jonathan Huffman, who currently is being recruited by the Cardinals right now, attends right now.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that 6'10 Carl Swanigan from Salt Lake City (Hunter) UT, 6'3 Jarvis Hill from Starkville (H.S.) MS, and 6'6 Frosh Martez Walker from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL also are planning on enrolling at Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL this fall.  Johnson also tells us that 6'8 Leo Criswell from Kansas City ({Piper) KS, who finished ranked #7 at the Reebok ABCD Camp in July, plans to enroll at Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH and 5'10 Brian Smith from Fork Union (Military) VA will enroll at the University of Mississippi as a walk-on this fall.  And this is interesting because all three of University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith's kids (G.G. Smith at Georgia, Saul Smith at Kentucky, and Brian Smith at Mississippi) will get a chance to play college basketball in the Southeastern Conference.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Elijah Miller is transferring from the University of Houston to Liberty and that's very significant, because there just aren't very many 6'10 guys playing in the Big South Conference. 

Saturday, August 21, 2004, Sunday, August 22, 2004, Monday, August 23, 2004

It would be a major surprise if 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, who is ranked #6 on our list of the top seniors nationally that will published later this week, does not pick North Carolina tomorrow and, assuming that we're right, this could make things very interesting for University of Kentucky.  Remember, Hansbrough and 6'7 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA have been the Wildcats primary recruiting targets ever since they wrapped up last year's recruiting class, which was ranked #2 in our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes from the Class of 2004 and included 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV.  However, we've always thought Mitchell was a done deal for LSU, because his Godfather is LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre and Hansbrough was supposed to be a lock for Missouri until the mess surrounding Ricky Clemons arose.  So now that the Wildcats are well stocked at the center spot with Morris, 7'1 Soph Lukasz Obrzut, and 7'3 Shagari Alleyne; at the wing forward spot with 6'5 Jr Kelenna Azubuike and 6'7 Soph Bobby Perry; and at both guard positions with Crawford, Bradley, Rondo, and 6'2 Patrick Sparks, who sat out last year after transferring from Western Kentucky, where he was the Sun Belt Conference Player-of-the-Year two years ago; the one remaining question is whether Tubby Smith and his staff can find somebody good enough to beat out 6'8 Soph Sheray Thomas, if they don't get either Hansbrough or Mitchell, when 6'6 Sr Chuck Hayes graduates after this season.  How about 6'7 Korvotney Barber from Manchester (H.S.) GA?  If you will recall, this is the guy who was unranked in the state by our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis when he last updated his rankings in February and whose list featured Georgia State and Georgia Southern prior to the Houston Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX in late April.  After that schools like Georgia, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, and Auburn entered the mix and, after watching him at the Bob Gibbons Tournament Champions, where Barber was good enough to be ranked #34 in the tournament, we moved him into our top 100 nationally.  But it wasn't until the NBA Players Association Camp that we realized just how good Barber is, as he was one of the top five players in the camp, along with 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'5 Soph Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, and 6'3 Eric Devendorf from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  At 6'7, Barber is skilled enough, athletic enough, and powerful enough to project at either forward spot.  However, the way Barber rebounds, scores, and doesn't take any prisoners inside, it would be a shame if somebody tried and made a wing forward out of him.  In other words, just imagine what Chuck Hayes would be like if he was an inch taller, just as athletic, and even more skilled from mid-range.  No, we're not ready to go on record saying that Barber is the best power forward in the senior class nationally, but we might be, if he hadn't broken his hand the last day at the NBA Players Association Camp and been sidelined for the entire month of July.  We also might have been willing to do call Barber the best power forward in the class, if NIKE hadn't encouraged a number of the top forwards in the nation, like Hansbrough, 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL to skip the NBA Associaton Players Camp and attend individual work-out in Portland, OR the same weekend in June.  But we will rank Barber behind 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'7 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'3 Eric Devendorf from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA.  Auburn appears to be the leader over Georgia and Florida State, but our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that Kentucky and Miami-FL have both shown recent interest and our guess is that Kentucky will turn the heat up in September.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that La Salle finally has hired Maine head coach John Giannini and, as a result, the next question becomes who will get the Maine job?  Right now the leading candidates are Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo, Villanova assistant coach Fred Hill, Bryant College head coach Max Good, Massachusetts-Lowell head coach Kenny Barer, and Maine assistant Ted Woodward.  DeMeo has done a great job of building the program at Providence and appears to have the right contacts to get the job and Hill is our #1-ranked assistant coach in the nation, but, if Good wants the job, we think this one is a no-brainer.   Remember, Good has head coaching experience at the Division I level at both Eastern Kentucky and UNLV, previously was the head coach at Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and now is turning Bryant College into a Division II power.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also tells us that former Ohio State assistant coach Lamonte Stone has gotten an assistant coaching job at Bowling Green, which is important because Stone will give the Falcons an in into the state of Michigan that they haven't had before, and Devon Smith, who was a player on the Buckeyes 1999 NCAA Final Four team and previously was an assistant coach at St. Peter's for a year, has gotten an assistant coaching spot at Oakland.  And, as long as we're talking about assistants who are on the move, did you Know that Western Kentucky assistant coach Arch Miller has returned to N.C. State as an assistant coach?  If you will recall, Miller's older brother, Sean Miller, who is now the head coach at Xavier, recruited his younger brother to N.C. State when first arrived as an assistant coach at N.C. State in 1996. 

Friday, August 20, 2004

Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson and our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead are both telling us that the University of Mississippi has landed 6'9 Marquis Young from Chicago (Austin) IL and 6'7 Trey Hampton from Birmingham (Hoover) AL and, as a result, the Rebels now have not one, not two, but three inside players in this recruiting class.  If you will recall, last spring they landed 6'10 Carl Swanigan from Salt Lake City (Hunter) UT, but he needed a year of prep school in order to be eligible academically.  So they stashed Swanigan at Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL and he'll count with their recruiting class again this year.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that neither Young nor Swanigan are finished products, but they're both huge.  Swanigan also is extremely skilled and has surprising mobility for somebody his size, but he needs to drop 30-50 pounds and turn the rest of the bulk that he carries around into muscle.  Young, who also is surpringly skilled, is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally, as is evident by the fact that he wasn't even ranked among the top 400 players nationally in the junior class nationally February, but finished ranked #21 overall and #5 at the center position, behind 6'9 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'8 Jonathan Kale from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, and 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, in our rankings of the top players at the Reebok ABCD Camp.  Hampton is an undersized power forward, but he's one of the most talent and toughest competitors in the class, which makes him ideally suited to complement one of the two big guys inside when Rebels head coach Rod Barnes decides he wants to go with a smaller and quicker line-up.  Obviously Ole Miss assistant coach Tracy Dildy was able to go back to his old stamping grounds in Chicago, IL to get Young, but the two-years he spent as an assistant coach at Auburn also apparently paid off, because he's the one who deserves most of the credit for also getting Hampton done as well.  And they aren't done yet, as 6'6 Charles Little from Cleveland (H.S.) TN, 6'9 Xavier Webb from Atwood West Carroll) TN, 6'5 Reginald Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, 6'5 Richard Delk from Jackson Northside) TN, and a number of junior college guards also appear to be prime targets for the Rebels.  But getting the Delk's might be easier said than done, because Mississippi State, Auburn, and UAB are also really turning up the heat.  And the determining factor with the Delks will probably be which is willing to take them both and who has the strongest ties in Western Tennessee.  That's why Whitehead is betting on UAB.  However, if they both pick Ole Miss, then the Rebels recruiting class, which already has moved up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, would move all the way up to #2, behind Louisville and ahead of Duke, Marquette, Oklahoma State, and Notre Dame, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Whitehead also thinks Tennessee beat out Kansas, UCLA, and Alabama for 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN.  As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise us one bit if Smith verbally committed to the Volunteers when he takes his official visit to Knoxville, TN the first weekend in September.  Whitehead also tells us that 5'10 Devan Downey from Chester (H.S.) SC has an official visit scheduled to the University of Tennessee during the last weekend in August and, despite reports to the contrary, 6'6 Anthony Mason from Memphis (Fairley) TN does not have a visit scheduled to Tennessee.  Instead, it appears that Mason's final five are Washington State, Oklahoma, St. John's, Georgia Tech, and UAB.  Whitehead also believes it's too close to call between Memphis and Tennessee for 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and has learned that 6'9 Rousean Cronwell is planning on transferring this fall from Memphis (Fairley) TN to Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL.  Johnson also tells us that 6'9 Cyrus McGowan from Meridian (H.S.) MS, who finished ranked #6 overall and #24 at the center spot by the HOOP SCOOP at the Reebok ABCD Camp, will visit Georgia Tech and Mississippi State in September and right now they appear to be the final two.  Did you know that Southern Mississippi recently landed 6'0 Craig Kraft from Raleigh (H.S.) MS?  Neither did we until Johnson tipped us off about it today.  Apparently Kraft is an excellent outside shooter, but, as an undersized 2-guard, we wonder how he'll be anything more than a good role player and zone buster for the Golden Eagles?  Johnson also is excited about the match-up between Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA and Jackson (Lanier) MS, which, if things go as planned, will occur in Jackson, MS on Saturday, January 15th.  That's 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who was the HOOP SCOOP's Player-of-the-Summer and best 2-guard in the nation, versus 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, who will be the HOOP SCOOP's #1-ranked senior in the nation when we publish our updated rankings next week.  We also are now predicting that 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO will pick North Carolina over Kentucky, Kansas, and Missouri at his scheduled press conference on Monday.  So stay tuned!

Thursday, August 19, 2004

When I first heard that 7'1 Robert Rothbart from Sacramento (Natomas) CA had decided to play professionally in Europe, instead of enrolling at Indiana University this fall, I was just going to ignore it.  However, after reading today's article in the Louisville Courier-Journal, I changed my mind.  "His signing was supposed to ease Hoosiers' pain from losing forward Josh Smith, who was picked by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the National Association Basketball Association draft," writes C.I. Brown.  Brown also goes on to quote Indiana head coach Mike Davis saying what a big loss it is and says that Rothbart's decision will leave the Hoosiers without a true center.  "Mike Roberts, D.J. White, Sean Kline, and Pat Ewing - none of whom is taller than 6'9 - now will have to pass as the big men in IU's rotation."  Brown also quotes Ron Briscoe, publisher of the Southeast Regional Sports Report, who says "it's going to have a big impact.  Mike Davis had everything in place.  Now he's got to go back to the drawing boarding for a big man."  No he doesn't!  Anybody who has seen Rothbart actually play knows that Rothbart is totally a finesse guy, as what he does best is drift out on the perimeter and shoot threes.  In other words, Davis liked Rothbart, because he thought he might develop into the next Kirk Haston.  However, at 7'1, 230-pounds, Rothbart has a long way to go before that happens.  As a matter of fact, I thought Rothbart had a long way to go before he ever saw any serious playing time at Indiana.  So obviously I think all this talk about Rothbart, who announced his decision to go to Indiana and entered his named into the NBA Draft during the same week in April, is a total joke.  I even went so far as to tell some IU fans that they should hope Rothbart picks UCLA and some UCLA fans that they should hope Rothbart picks Indiana after Rothbart had narrowed his list down to those two.  Thus, explains why I had Rothbart ranked no higher than #258 nationally in our Final Rankings of the Top 600 Players in the Class of 2004.  And Bob Gibbons of All-Stars Sports, who didn't rank Rothbart among the top 200, and Brick Oettinger of the Recruiter's Handbook, who ranked Rothbart #157 in his final rankings of the top players in Class of 2004, appear to agree with me.  Getting back to my original point, it's totally obvious that D.J. White, who was a consensus top 20 senior nationally and was the best player on the first day at the NIKE All-American Camp prior to getting hurt and being sidelined for the rest of the summer of 2003, and Marco Killingworth, who transferred from Auburn to Indiana earlier this year and will sit out next season, are the inside players that Davis needs to make another NCAA Final Four run year after next.  But what I do I know?  Remember, I'm the guy who thought Neil Fingleton, Shagari Alleyne, and Yao Ming would all be a busts.  Well, two out of three isn't bad!  We also were right on the money yesterday when we told you that it would be only a matter of time before 6'6 Jeff Adrian from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH verbally committed to Connecticut and 6'4 Maurice Joseph from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU picked Michigan State over N.C. State.  Sure, Adrian is a little undersized, but he's the prototypical college power forward in this day and age, because he's a world-class athlete, physical specimen, and killer inside.  He's is very skilled around the basket and likely be there for four or five years, which means they can bring him along slowly.  If you will recall, the Huskies are already loaded inside, as 6'10 Soph Josh Boone, 6'10 Soph Charlie Villanueva, 6'10 Jr Hilton Armstrong, 6'8 Soph Marcus White, who red-shirted last season, and 6'8 Ed Nelson, who transferred from Georgia Tech and sat out last season, all will battle for playing time this season.  And when you also add 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD at the wing forward spot and 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY at the point guard spot and return 6'5 Jr Rashad Anderson, 6'5 Jr Denham Brown, and 6'2 Soph Marcus Williams, it's easy to see why we think Connecticut could be as good as any team in college basketball again next year.  We also are intrigued by Joseph's verbal commitment to Michigan State, which has a plethora of excellent guards and wing players in program this year in 6'3 Soph Shannon Brown, 6'4 Jr Maurice Ager, 6'4 Sr Kelvin Torbert, 6'3 Sr Chris Hill, 6'6 Sr Alan Anderson, and 6'1 Frosh Drew Neitzel.  However, we're not sold on the fact that Joseph will be ready to step in as a freshman a year from now after Torbert, Hill, and Anderson all graduate and become the third guard, if Brown decides to forgo his final two years of college eligibility next spring and enters his name into the NBA Draft.   Joseph is an excellent athlete who thrives in transition and hits the outside shot, but he also tends to be very streaky, needs to get bigger and stronger physically, and, although he's well coached in high school, needs to continue to improve his understanding of the game.  Remember, all players from Canada a suspect until proven otherwise, because they don't get the same quality of competition night in and night out that players do in the United States.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also tells us that 6'3 Farnold Degand from Boston (O'Bryant) MA has picked Iowa State over Boston University, George Washington, Northeastern, Rhode Island, and Villanova.  And this comes as no surprise, because Degand's AAU coach Leo Papile told us that the Cyclones were the heavy favorite a month ago when we watched him play at the NIKE Peach Jam.  Degand was nothing more than just a good role player on that team, which featured 6'6 Jeff Adrian from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'8 Jonathan Kale from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'4 Colby Santos from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, and 6'3 Jr Anthony Gurley from Newtown (North) MA, but it was easy to see that he's just oozing with potential. We're talking about a big time athlete, good 3-point shooter, and terrific student, as is evident by the fact that he's a year ahead of himself academically.   Obviously the connection here is the fact that Iowa State already has 5'11 Soph Will Blalock, who played for Papile in the BABC program.  And, assuming that Blalock and 6'2 Soph Curtis Stinson are both around for a while, Cyclones head coach Wayne Morgan will have the luxury of being able to bring Degand along slowly. 

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

The big decision by 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, who is expected to pick North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, or Kansas, will be forthcoming on Monday, August 23rd, and the ramifications from whatever he does are extremely interesting.  If Hansbrough picks the Tar Heels, that would huge for a number of reasons.  First, it move North Carolina's recruiting class, which already includes 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA and 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, up to #3, behind Louisville and Duke, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Second, getting Hansbrough would give North Carolina another quality inside player to go along with 6'8 Jr Sean May and 6'9 Frosh Marvin Williams.  Third, a commitment by Hansbrough would give the Tar Heels the momentum that they need to land another quality inside player like 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA, and 6'11 Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ.  Fourth, a commitment from Hansbrough would give North Carolina head coach Roy Williams all kinds of versatility in the future, because Williams and Hansbrough are both multi-dimensional and athletic enough to play both inside and outside.  If Hansbrough picks Kentucky, it would mean that the Wildcats will have filled their only need, which is somebody who is good enough to beat out 6'7 Soph Sheray Thomas at the power forward spot year after next.  And that's not knocking Thomas.  In other words, why would Kentucky sign anybody in this year's recruiting class, unless they can land somebody, like Hansbrough, 6'8 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, or 6'9 Ryan Wright from Mississauga (Loyola Catholic) ON, who is better than what they have at the one spot where they will have to replace somebody after next season.  It also is safe to assume that Mitchell would be even more of a lock for LSU than he already is, if Hansbrough picks the Wildcats.  Hansbrough would just be the icing on the cake for Missouri, which returns 6'3 Jr Jimmy McKinney, 6'5 Soph Thomas Gardner, and 6'8 Frosh Linas Kleiza and will have four outstanding freshmen in the program in Jason Horton, Marshall Brown, Kalen Grimes, and Glen Dandridge.   However, even more important, if Hansbrough elects to stay home, despite all the off the court issues that have surrounded the Missouri program during the last year, it would be a testament to just how strong the Tigers are in their own backyard.   Did you know that Hansbrough has always been a Missouri fan and, as a result, under normal circumstances it already would have been done for the Tigers.  If Hansbrough picks Kansas, he would be one of the last pieces to the puzzle.  Remember, the Jayhawks landed Russell Robinson, Alexander Kaun, Alex Galindo, Darnell Jackson, and Chester Giles in last year's recruiting class and they already have 6'8 Micah Downs from Bothell (H.S.) WA and 6'2 Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK in this year's recruiting class.  Hansbrough also would be the replacement for 6'10 David Padgett, who transferred to Louisville this spring, as well as the perfect complement to the three inside players that we just mentioned above.  Our guess is that Hansbrough will pick North Carolina and, if we're right, we don't think that will have any effectojn Hendrix, who, in the end, will probably pick the Crimson Tide.   Did you know that Hendrix's aunt was one of the first black people to ever graduate from the University of Alabama?  But we do think that a verbal commitment from Hansbrough to the Tar Heels could have an effect on Brockman, who also plays the power forward position.  So, if the dominos fall like we think they will, our guess is that Brockman elect to stay on the West Coast and pick either UCLA or Washington.  And, if the Tar Heels lose out on Hendrix and Brockman, then they probably will try and turn the heat up on 6'11 Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ.  But it probably will be too late, because it appears that Connecticut is way out in front of North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Rutgers, and Duke.  Speaking of the Huskies, we also believe that a verbal commitment by 6'6 Jeff Adrian from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH could be forthcoming almost immediately.  And Adrian would be perfect for the Huskies, because he's a good old-fashioned blue collar banger type athlete out of the Kevin Freeman mold.  We also believe that 6'4 Maurice Joseph from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU will pick Michigan State over N.C. State at almost any time.  We also still think Duke is the team you have to beat for 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE and Arizona is the favorite for 6'6 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, but we are wondering what's taking so long.  Speaking of Webster, he also could the odd-man-out at Arizona, if 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL and 6'6 C.J Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX both commit to the Wildcats first.  Miles also has Kansas, Texas, and North Carolina on his list, but we still think Georgia Tech is the team to beat due at least in part to the potential package that would involve both Miles and his Team Texas teammate - 6'8 Kevin Rogers from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX.  We also still think it's too close to call in the sweepstakes for 6'6 Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA among Syracuse, Connecticut, and Louisville and the top three for 6'5 Bryan Harvey now appear to be Arizona State, Louisville, and Kansas.  A month ago Oklahoma State appeared to be a near lock for 5'11 Byron Eaton from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, but now Cincinnati is making a strong push.  And still think Mississippi State is the team to beat for 6'10 Vernon Goodridge from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA and Tennessee will prevail in the race for 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN.  However, we're backing off our earlier prediction that the Volunteers also are the favorite for 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'9 Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ is a near lock for Connecticut.  Instead, Costner appears to be more open than we originally thought, as his final five are Connecticut, Kansas, UCLA, Seton Hall, and N.C. State.  We also have finally confirmed that 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD has transferred to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (we've been predicting this will happen for months) and 6'11 Jermaine Bell from Rochester (Franklin) NY, Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, and Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and who holds the record for most times verbally committed and reneged on the same school (three times each to St. John's) now appears to be bound for Indian Hills (JC) IA.  We also have received word from our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson about 6'11 Robert Whaley transferring from Cincinnati to Walsh College, which is a NAIA Division II school in Canton, OH, where Bobby Huggins got his start in coaching.   Whaley appears to be following Jerrod Calhoun, who served in an administrative role at Cincinnati last season and is now a full-time assistant coach at Walsh.  And Whaley isn't the only transfer that Calhoun is responsible for landing as 5'9 Malcolm Andrews is transferring from Wright State to Walsh and 5'11 Jason Hicks is transferring from Akron to Walsh.  Whaley will have one year, Andrews has two years, and Hicks has three years of eligibility remaining.  We also have confiirmed that 6'4 Tyler Newbold from Payson (H.S.) UT has picked Utah State and 6'9 John Oates from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ appears to have landed a scholarship to Boston College and, as a result, will enroll in college, instead of prep school at Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, this fall. 

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Within the last several days the University of Minnesota got a verbal commitment from 6'5 Brandon Smith from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, Oklahoma landed 6'6 Taylor Griffin from Edmond (Christian) OK and 6'4 Michael Neal from Lon Morris (JC) TX, and New Mexico State added another transfer in 6'9 Tyrone Nelson.  You probably remember that Nelson, who is originally from Hempstead (H.S.) TX, signed with Baylor as a high school senior, but then decided to enroll at Prairie View A&M after he got out his National Letter-of-Intent last fall.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Nelson was named the Freshman-of-the-Year in the Southwestern Athletic Conference this past season and, as a result, gives the Aggies not one, but two excellent transfers who will be waiting in the wings next year.  If you will recall, earlier this spring New Mexico State also got 5'11 Elijah Ingram, who transferred from St. John's.  The commitments by Neal and Griffin are also big, because we're talking about one of only two freshmen named to the All-National Junior College Athletic Association Second Team and Griffin is widely regarded as the best rising senior in the state.  We also understand that 6'10 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO will announce his college decision on Monday, August 23rd, and the final four are still North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas.  But, otherwise, it still is amazingly quiet and, as a result, today seemed like a good time to update our list of Dates/Future Events.  Obviously the next important event, which is the Five-Star Basketball Camp at Camp Bryn Mawr in Honesdale, PA, August 26-31st, is just around the corner, but the High School Elite Pep Fall Classic at Riverside-Brookfield High School in Riverside-Brookfield, IL, September 4th-5th; the FullCourt Press Fall Showcase at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, CA, September 12th; the FullCourt Press Fall Hoops Classic at SCBA Center in Cypress, CA, September 17th-19th; the Hoop Group Fall Jam Fest at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, September 18th-19th; the Charlie Weber Maryland Invitational at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, September 24th-26th; the Gym Rats Midnight Madness at Cherry Hill East High School in Cherry Hill, NJ, September 25th; the High School Elite Top 50 Super Showcase at North Park University in Chicago, IL, October 3rd; the Eddie Griffin Challenge at St. Benedict's High School in Newark, NJ, October 23rd, and the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational in Milford, DE, November 19th-21st; also are among the events that I'm considering covering this fall.  However, things won't get ridiculous again until December when I attend the Marshall County High School Hoop Fest at Marshall County High School in Benton, KY, December 2nd-4th; St. Louis Shootout at the Sabis Center in St. Louis, MO, December 9th; the 4th Annual L&N Federal Credit Union Blue-Chip Shootout in Louisville, December 10th; the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic at Fairdale High School in Fairdale, KY, December 16th-17th; the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, December 17th-22nd; and Slam Dunk to the Beach, the Beach Ball Classic, and the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX, all between December 26th-30th.  And in a few cases we've even looked further ahead than that as we already have all of Hal Pastner's events and most of the Spiece events listed for next spring and summer.   Obviously we will continue to update our list of Dates/Future Events, so don't hesitate to email me at hoopscooponline@msn.com, as this information becomes available.  Now also is a good time to pass along what teams and players are going to be in some of these events.  The Marshall County High School Hoop Fest, which will feature Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, Jackson (Lanier) MS, Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, Bolivar (Central) TN, Memphis (White Station) TN, Carbondale (H.S.) IL, Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, Tucson (Santa Rita) AZ, Ullin (Century) IL, Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, Mayfield (Graves County) KY, Metropolis (Massac County) KY, Charleston (H.S.) MO, Fairdale (H.S.) KY, Webster Groves (H.S.) MO, Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, Paducah (Tilghman) KY, Benton (Marshall County) KY, Hopkinsville (Christian County) KY, Paducah (Lone Oak) KY, and Belleville (Althoff) IL, once again is loaded at the top, as 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'10 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, and 6'9 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA all rank among the top players in the nation in their respective classes.  The 4th Annual L&N Federal Credit Union Blue-Chip Shootout will include Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Brentwood (Academy) TN, Georgetown (Scott County) KY, Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, Louisville (Manual) KY, Louisville (Holy Cross) Ky, Louisville (Western) KY, Nicholasville (West Jessamine) KY, and Portsmouth (Clay) OH and will feature players like 6'9 Jr Brandon Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 K.C. Rivers from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Bamba Fall from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'0 Dominic Tilford from Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, 6'6 Jr Anthony Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 7'0 Jared Carter from Georgetown (Scott County) KY.   The King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic will include Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, Louisville (Trinity) KY, Louisville (Ballard) KY, Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, Louisville (Butler) KY, Louisville (Fairdale) KY, Frankfort (H.S.) KY, Mayfield (Graves County) KY, Owensboro (Catholic) KY, Horse Cave (Caverna) KY, Mt. Washington (Bullitt East) KY, Mt. Vernon (Rockcastle County) KY, Henderson (County) KY, Scottville (Allen County) KY, Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, and Miami (Senior) FL and will feature players like 6'8 James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'8 Jr Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL, 5'11 Jujuan Spillman from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'0 Dominic Tilford from Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, 6'2 Maurice Grinter from Fairdale (H.S.) KY, 6'4 Ravon Lee from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'5 Wilbert Reeves from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 5'11 Zach Berry from Louisville (Trinity) KY, 6'4 Tory Robertson from Frankfort (H.S.) KY, and 5'11 Aaron Cash from Mt. Vernon (Rockcastle County) KY.  The Beach Ball Classic will include Aiken (H.S.) SC, Anchorage (Bartlett) AK, New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, Dayton (Dunbar) OH, Los Angeles (Dominguez) CA, Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, Toronto (Henry Carr) ON, New York (Frederick Douglass) NY, Greenville (Mann) SC, Miami (Senior) FL, Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and feature players like 6'8 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'2 Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK, 6'4 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'0 Jr D.J. Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, 6'5 Bryan Harvey from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'8 Jr Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'7 Soph Marshall Moses from Aiken (H.S.) SC, 6'0 Soph Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, and 5'11 Soph Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  The field for the Academy National Invitational will have Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, which should be the pre-season #1-ranked team in the nation, Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, Montverde (Academy) LA, and Houston (Westbury Christian) TX in the National Division and Houston (Aldine) TX, Kingwood (H.S.) TX, Alief (Taylor) TX, Houston (Westfield) TX, Houston (Cy Ridge) TX, Houston (Bellaire) TX, Garland (South Garland) TX, and Missouri City (Ft. Bend) TX in the Texas Divison.   Some of the top players at the Academy National Invitational will include 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'7 Fendi Onobun from Alief (Taylor) TX, 6'5 Terrel Harris from Garland (South Garland) TX, 6'3 David Huertas from Jacksonville (Arlington County Day) FL, 5'10 Jr Nigel Minson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'8 Jr Jeff Allen from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'8 Desmond Adedeji from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 7'2 Jr Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington County Day) FL, 6'8 Obi Ikeakor from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'8 Jeremy Barr from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'5 Jr Dale Van Wright from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 5'9 Jr Nic Wise from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'9 Jr Darius Santee from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'4 Jr Trent Boone from Garland (South Garland) TX, 6'7 Soph Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'5 Soph Mike Singletary from Kingwood (H.S.) TX, 5'10 Soph Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'7 Soph Isaiah Rusher from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'4 Soph Kevin Branch from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, 5'8 Soph Malik Boothe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, and 6'5 Soph Andrew Gabriel from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.

Saturday, August 14, 2004, Sunday, August 15, 2004, & Monday, August 16, 2004

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Pennsylvania head coach Fran Dunphy did not take the La Salle job, because he was not willing to meet their deadline.  Apparently Dunphy wanted more time, but La Salle athletic director Tom Brennan gave Dunphy a 7:00 PM deadline on Friday evening, August 13th.   Instead, Rubin thinks Maine head coach John Giannini and Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlan are the leading candidates for the La Salle job, but we think the smart money is on Giannini for several reasons.  First, O'Hanlan already turned the job down once recently and, instead, signed a new 10-year contract at Lafayette.  Second, Giannini is a heck of a coach, as is evident by the fact that he has led Maine to more victories than any other America East Conference school during the last six years and is the only coach school history to win 20 or more games in a single season (24-7 in 1999-2000 and 20-10 in 2003-2004).  And, going back even further, Giannini also had a 168-38 record at Rowan University, where his .816 winning percentage ranked him first among active Division III coaches and included Division III NCAA Final Four appearances in 1993 and 1995 and the Division III National Championship and Division III National Coach-of-the-Year honors in 1996.  Third, Giannini also is an excellent recruiter and he's got strong ties to the Philadelphia area.  Did you know that Rowan University is located in Glassboro, NJ, less than 30 minutes from Philadelphia, PA?   And, if this happens, then our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio thinks Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo may have the inside track for the Maine job.  And, this would make perfect sense, because DeMeo not only has all the right ties necessary to get it done at any program in the Northeast, but he's also a terrific evaluator of talent and recruiter (i.e. most of the players on Providence's roster).  Naclerio also continues to tell us that Northeastern head coach Ronnie Everhart will move onto Cincinnati as an assistant coach, but our sources think this is a little bit pre-mature, because nothing can happen until Bearcats head coach Bobby Huggins gets done with his suspension on Friday, August 27th.  However, if Everhart does take the job, then we think it's a no-brainer that Northeastern should hire Frank Martin, who has been an assistant coach at the school for four years, worked for two different head coaches, and was the main reason why the Huskies got players like Marcus Barnes, Sylbrin Robinson, Javorie Wilson, Cornellius Wright,and Jose Juan Barea.  And Martin has plenty of head coaching experience dating back to the days when he was at Miami (Senior) FL.  As a matter of fact, we think Martin is so good that, if Everhart doesn't take the Cincinnati job, Huggins should, instead, consider hiring Martin.   And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Martin, who is really the guy with the pull with Barea, also has been mentioned for the open assistant coaching job at Murray State.  So, if Everhart goes to Cincinnati and Martin goes to Murray State, does Barea stay at Northeastern, transfer to Cincinnati, or transfer to Murray State?  Our guess is that he would stay at Northeastern.  That way Barea wouldn't have to sit out this coming season and he could enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.  And, if Northeastern doesn't hire Martin, then the smart money is on Connecticut assistant coach Tom Moore, Boston College assistant coach Bill Coen, and Brown head coach Glen Miller.  Rubin also has some more recruiting information for us, as Duke, Villanova, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, N.C. State, North Carolina, and Notre Dame make up the early list for 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA.  The top six for 6'11 Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ are Georgia Tech, Georgia, Rutgers, Connecticut, Duke, and North Carolina.  Among those showing the most interest in 6'9 Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA are Rutgers, Villanova, Navy, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and George Washington.  Apparently 6'0 Jr Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, whose high school coach is former Mississippi State guard Todd Myles and is close firends with current Mississippi State point guard Gary Ervin, has the Bulldogs right at the top of his list, along with St. John's, Florida State, Clemson, Seton Hall, and Hofstra.  The early favorites for 6'0 Jr Jawan Carter from Wilmington (Titnall) DE are Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Maryland, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Villanova, and St. Joseph's.   Pennsylvania, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Lehigh are the leaders for 6'7 Steve Rossiter from Staten Island (Monsignor Farrell) NY.  The early list for 6'9 Jr Andrew Ott from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA includes Penn State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Villanova, Illinois, Purdue, and Georgia Tech.   The list for 6'7 Jr Daniel Werner from Lincroft (Christian Brothers) NJ is already very interesting as he mentions Richmond, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Monmouth, Fordham, and Rutgers.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that Washington, San Francisco, Texas Tech, Indiana, Florida, Boston College, UCLA, USC, and UNLV are all in the hunt for 6'6 Dior Lowhorn from Berkeley (H.S.) CA and North Carolina, Arizona, UNLV, USC, Texas, and Washington are showing the most interest in 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA.   However, the coup would be if the Huskies can get 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA.  And Trigonis thinks this may happen, if Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar goes ahead and pulls the trigger on Brockman's close friend and Friends of Hoop-Seattle teammate - 6'0 Mitch Johnson from Seattle (O'Dea) WA.  The Huskies already have verbal commitments from 6'6 Roburt Sallie from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'4 Harvey Perry from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, and 6'8 Artem Wallace from Toledo (H.S.) WA, but getting Brockman and Johnson also might give the Huskies the momentum they need to convince 6'7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA to stay home.   And, if the Huskies were to by some chance beat out Arizona for Webster, that also would probably put them in the driver's seat next year for 6'10 Jr Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA.  In other words, Romar wasn't standing behind the basket at all of the Friends of Hoop-Seattle's games at the Main Event in Las Vegas, NV in late July for nothing. 

Friday, August 13, 2004

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson apparently has the scoop on our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis, because he tells us that 6'11 Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA has verbally committed to the University of California.  And this comes as no surprise, because we've thought all along that Wilkes would decide to follow in the footsteps of his older brother - 6'3 Omar Wilkes, who transferred from Kansas to California earlier this year.  Currently we have Wilkes ranked #47 in the senior class nationally based on his size, potential, and skill level, but whether he wants it bad enough and has the toughness necessary to develop into a great player remain question marks.  He also needs to get bigger and stronger and remain injury free, but, if all that happens, he could develop into the best player that Ben Braun has ever coached.  Johnson also tells us that LSU has landed 6'11 Chris Johnson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC and Wisconsin has gotten 6'7 Marcus Landry from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI.   The verbal commitment by Landry, who is more of a power forward right now, but will project as a wing forward down the road, if he improves his jump shot and perimeter skills, is a perfect complement to 6'7 Joe Krabbenhoft from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD and 6'2 Phillip Perry from Maywood (Proviso East) WI, both of whom are already a part of the Badgers' current recruiting class; 6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI, 6'5 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) WI, and 6'2 Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follette) WI, all of whom signed with the Badgers a year ago; and 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (East) WI, who signed with the Badgers two years ago, but sat out last season as a red-shirt.  We're less excited about the verbal commitment by Johnson, because, as a general rule, I don't like finesse big men.  However, Johnson, who is a more of a three than a four at 6'11, does provide an interesting piece to the puzzle for LSU.  Remember, the Tigers already have two of the best young inside players in the Southeastern Conference in 6'8 Frosh Glen Davis and 6'8 Soph Brandon Bass, plus they have 6'9 Kentrell Gransberry from San Jacinto (JC) TX, who was one of the top freshman junior college centers in the nation last year, already in the fold in this recruiting class.  So, assuming that LSU also gets 6'7 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, whose godfather is Tigers assistant coach Butch Pierre, then Johnson projects as nothing more than a good role player.  Johnson also tells us that the top three for 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH now appear to be Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio State and that the early favorites for 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH are Syracuse, Arizona, Ohio State, Michigan, and North Carolina.  It also looks like the College of Charleston has picked up right where they left off on the recruiting trail last year, as the Cougars have landed 6'5 Brian Greene from Santa Fe (JC) FL and re-signed 6'11 Ben Brown from Winchendon (School) MA.  If you will recall, Brown was apart of the College of Charleston's recruiting class, which was ranked #49 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2004 and also included 6'8 Josh Jackson from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'7 Tavon Nelson from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'2 Marcus Hammond from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7 J.R. Hairston from Fork Union (Military) VA, and 6'8 Jermaine Johnson from Winchendon (School) MA.  It also is important to point out that Brown, who originally from Richmond (Steward School) VA, will be following in the footsteps of the College of Charleston's other five recruits from a year ago, as he plans to go the prep school route.  And who better to toughen up this rail thin 6'11 center than Winchendon head coach Mike Byrnes, who is the one of the best there is at pushing his players every day in practice and, as a result, getting them ready for the next level?  However, the real story here is Greene, who sat out all last year with an injury, but was the Freshman-of-the-Year in the Florida Junior College ranks during the 2002-2003 season.  We're talking about a big time athlete and terrific scorer who apparently has slipped through the cracks, as the College of Charleston was able to hold off schools like Mississippi and Wichita State.  And they aren't done yet, as College of Charleston assistant coach Patrick Skerry was reportedly been scouring the junior college ranks in July looking for not one, but wing players to complement all of the other good young players that they already have in the program, like Jackson, Nelson, Hammond, Hairston, Johnson, and 6'2 Jr Drew Hall, who sat out last year after transferring from Georgetown.  We also have confirmed that Missouri-Kansas City has landed 6'4 Dane Brumagin from Warrenton (Christian) MO, who averaged 32.0 ppg and is an excellent 3-point shooter.  And this is exactly what the doctor ordered, as the Kangaroos' coaching staff needed an good 2-guard to complement 5'11 Mose Howard from Iowa Western (JC) IA, 6'7 Chris Temple from Iowa Western Iowa (JC) IA, 6'8 Brian Gettinger from Overland Park (Shawnee Mission South) KS, 6'9 Jeremiah Hartsock from Bartlesville (H.S.) OK, and 6'7 Albert Reese from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, all of whom were apart of last year's recruiting class.  We also understand that Louisville, Minnesota, and Miami-FL are the leaders for 7'0 Jonathan Huffman from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL and it's a three horse race among Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Kansas for 6'6 Jeff Adrian from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Michigan, St. Joseph's, Connecticut, Louisville, Villanova, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Kentucky, and Florida are all now in the hunt for 6'5 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and that the final five for 6'8 Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ are Connecticut, Kansas, UCLA, Seton Hall, and N.C. State.  Rubin also reports that St. Joseph's, George Washington, Fordham, Massachusetts, and St. Bonaventure are the leaders for 6'8 Alvin Mofunanya from Englewood (Dwight Morrow) NJ.  The leaders for 6'0 Tremaine Hawthorne from Steelton (Steelton-Highspire) PA are Delaware, Drexel, Massachusetts, and James Madison and 6'3 Noel Wilmore from Chester (H.S.) PA is getting the most interest from Boston University, New Hampshire, Holy Cross, Pennsylvania, and Columbia.  And, last, but not least, our sources tell us that Pennsylvania head coach Fran Dunphy has already agreed in principle to become the next head coach at La Salle.  We also understand that former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis has no interest in the Pennsylvania job, which means that the only remaining question to be answered is which Fran will replace Fran at Pennsylvania?  Obviously we're talking about UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery, who played at Pennsylvania, and Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon, who previously was an assistant coach at Pennsylvania.

Thursday, August, 12, 2004

Earlier this week we were totally focused on traveling and wrapping things up with the adidas Junior Phenom Camp and AAU 14-Under Nationals and, as a result, only now are getting a chance to catch up on recruiting and some of the verbal commitments that have occurred recently.  We're talking about 6'6 Jevon Shepherd from Scarborough (West Hill) ON to the University of Michigan, 6'1 Henry Dugat from Dayton (H.S.) TX to Baylor, 6'7 Sean Green from Salt Lake City (Olympus) UT to Utah, 6'7 Dazzmond Thornton from Denver (East) CO to Texas Tech, 6'2 Stephan Gilling from Chino Hills (Ayalla) CA to Colorado State, 6'6 Derek Drews from Elkhart (Central) IN to Western Michigan, 6'4 Zane Gay from Olivet (H.S.) MI to Central Michigan, 6'3 Jon Yeazel from Middleville (H.S.) MI to Central Michigan, and 7'0 John Gourley from Subiaco (Academy) AR to Lehigh.  We're not sure how good Gourley is, because we've never seen him play, but he's 7-feet tall and his final three were Oklahoma, Illinois, and Lehigh, which alone is enough to raise more than a few eyebrows.  In other words, it looks like Mountain Hawks head coach Billy Taylor, who is one of the bright young guys in the business, and his staff have stolen another one.  If you will recall, Lehigh had the second best recruiting in the Patriot League when they landed 6'1 Joe Knight from Tarrant County (JC) TX, 5'11 Eric Smith from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, and 6'6 Bryan White from Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) FL in the Class of 2004.  And this comes on the heels of the Mountain Hawks going 16-12 two years ago and 20-11 last season and Taylor taking home Patriot League Coach-of-the-Year honors both years.   Ironically we don't like Shepherd and Dugat as well as most people, because they did not play well when I saw them play this summer.  However, that won't stop us from ranking them both among our top 100 seniors nationally when we update our rankings later this month.  Shepherd is a big time athlete and excellent 3-point shooter, but, once he gets to college, he'll need some time to adjust to playing against a higher level of competition than he's used to playing against in Canada.  But, once that happens, the sky could be the limit.  Shepherd also should be an excellent complement to 6'2 Jarrett Smith from Westland (John Glenn) MI and 6'5 Jr K'len Morris from Grand Blanc (H.S.) MI, who also have already made early verbal commitments to the Wolverines, and 6'6 Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI, who was the only player they signed in the Class of 2004.  Moral to the story, the Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker already has players waiting in the wings in case 6'3 Jr Daniel Horton and 6'3 Soph Dion Harris have great years and decide to forgo the rest of their college eligibility and enter the NBA Draft next spring.  And Amaker also will have plenty of bodies on the perimeter, just like he does now inside with 6'10 Soph Courtney Sims, 6'11 Jr Chris Hunter, 6'9 Jr Graham Brown, 6'9 Soph Brent Petway, 6'8 Sr J.C. Mathis, and 6'10 Soph Amadou Ba.   Dugat, who is very athletic, great in transition, and an excellent outside shooter, is a true combo guard, because he's not big enough to really be a two-guard and doesn't make good enough decisions and doesn't have the point guard mentality necessary to play the one.  But this is exactly what the doctor ordered for Bears head coach Scott Drew and his staff, because they already have 6'1 Curtis Jerrells from Del Valle (H.S.) TX in this recruiting class and they landed five talented perimeter players - 6'2 Aaron Bruce from Horsham, Australia, 6'1 Kavis Shipman from Tyler (JC) TX, 6'0 Roscoe Biggers from Globe Tech (JC) NY, 6'5 Patrick Fields from Panola (JC) TX, and 6'5 Richard Hurd from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX - in the Class of 2004.  So obviously all they need now is another inside player or two to complement 6'11 Mamadou Diene from Senegal, who was one of the best players in his age group on the continent of Africa last year.  Our guess is that Drew and his top assistant coach Mark Morefield, both of whom have a seemingly endless supply of international contacts, will follow a similar path this year and bring in another top notch international player or two and a year from now people will be scratching their head trying to figure out how Baylor got so good so fast.  We also continue to hear that Northeastern head coach Ronnie Everhart is in line to become the next assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati.  And this would make perfect sense, because Everhart and Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins have had pre-existing relationship that dates back to their high school days in West Virginia.   However, in the end, I'd be surprised if this happens, because Everhart has one of the best players in college basketball returning in 5'11 Jose Juan Barea and he finally has the program right where he wants it after finishing 19-11 overall and 13-5 in the America East this past season.  Speaking Barea, did you know that he helped Puerto Rico advance to the gold medal game in the Under-21 Tournament of the Americas last week in Halifax, Nova Scotia averaging 24.8 ppg, 7.2 apg, and 6.8 rpg in Puerto Rico's five games in the tournament?  We also have gotten reports about Barea outplaying Wake Forest's Chris Paul and, if that's true, that's saying a lot, because most knowledgeable observers believe Paul will be the best point guard in college basketball this coming season.  We also have confirmed via our New York Editor Ron Naclerio that 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas is transferring from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ to Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, where he will team with 5'11 Jr Eugene Harvey and 6'3 Soph Corey Stokes for the next two years.  Naclerio also tells us that 6'8 Mike Davis has left Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, but, as things stand now, nobody seems to have any idea where he will end up. 

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Upsets were the order of the day at AAU 14-Under Nationals late last week as the Dallas Wildcats knocked off Team Next, 51-48, in the Round of 16, the Philadelphia Raiders stunned the P. Miller Ballers, 85-79, in the semi-finals, and the Philadelphia Raiders beat DTA Wisconsin, 67-60, in the championship game, which brings us to the two big stories of the tournament.  First, 5'11 Frosh Korey Lucious from Whitefish Bay (H.S.) WI laid to rest any doubt about who the best player in the freshman class is nationally as he totally dominated the tournament from start-to-finish.  Second, the Philadelphia Raiders, which were led by 6'3 Frosh Tyreke Evans from Chester, PA, 6'7 Frosh Jermaine Jackson from Chester, PA, and 6'5 Frosh Nasir Robinson from Chester, PA, featured a well balanced attack, as they proved to be more than up to the task of not only knocking off several of the best teams, but also winning the championship.  Evans, who is ranked #4 in the tournament based on performance by our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton, is a silky smooth wing.  "He shoots the ball well and with range," says Clifton. "Evans also handles well, makes plays, is a good defender, is a good athlete, and has a knack for putting the ball in the hole.  And he does it from all positions on the floor."  Robinson, who is ranked #13 in the tournament based on performance by Clifton, plays multiple positions because of his body.  "He has enough size and strength to be a quality post player, but has great hands and feet and enough athleticism to play on the perimeter," says Clifton.  "Robinson can also shoot the ball from behind the arc and gets to the rim well."  Jackson, who is ranked #14 in the tournament based on performance by Clifton, is a rebounding machine (had 22 of them against the P. Miller Ballers in the semi-finals).  "He doesn't look to do a great deal right now, but everything that comes off the rimb belongs to him," says Clifton.  Jackson plays well above the rim and does have skill enough to create his own shot."  Clifton also tells us that the biggest sleeper, as well as one of the most intriguing players, to emerge at the tournament was 6'6 Frosh Christopher Braswell from Bethesda, MD, who he has ranked #6 in the tournament based on performance.  "He's one of those kids that has greatness beaming out of him," says Clifton.  "Braswell is an average shooter, but runs extremely well and rebounds the ball as well as almost anybody.  He also can handle, has a very good body, and is a great athlete.  He is a terrific player now, but, if you watch this kid, you immediately are able to see that he is not even scraping the surface of what he may become.  This kid will be a STAR to the highest degree."  Clifton's complete list of the Top 50 Players at the 2004 14-Under AAU National Tournament is as follows:  1) 5'11 Frosh Korey Lucious from Whitefish Bay (H.S.) WI, 2) 6'8 Frosh Greg Monroe from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, 3) 5'5 Frosh Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 4) 6'3 Frosh Tyreke Evans from Chester (H.S.) PA, 5) 5'10 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6) 6'6 Frosh Christopher Braswell from Bethesda, MD, 7) 6'1 Frosh Jeremy Green from Austin, TX, 8) 6'1 Frosh Jacovan Brown from Port Arthur, TX, 9) 6'4 Frosh Patrick Moore from Austin, TX, 10) 6'4 Frosh Darnell Dodson from Bowie, MD, 11) 6'8 Frosh Yancy Gates from Cincinnati, OH, 12) 6'2 Frosh Gerayl Sanders from Dallas, TX, 13) 6'7 Frosh Jermaine Jackson from Chester (H.S.) PA, 14) 6'5 Frosh Nasir Robinson from Chester, PA, 15) 6'7 Frosh Brandon Moore from Marrero, LA, 16) 6'4 Frosh Demar Derozan from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 17) 6'6 Frosh Bryan Brown from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 18) 6'10 Frosh Byron Mullins from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) WI, 19) 5'11 Frosh Oscar Bellfield from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 20) 6'4 Frosh Malik Story from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 21) 6'4 Frosh Chris Grimes from Cincinnati, OH, 22) 6'0 Frosh Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 23) 5'11 Frosh Damon Butler from Cincinnati, OH, 24) 5'11 Frosh Tony Monroe from Milwaukee, WI, 25) 5'11 Frosh Eddren McCain from Houston, TX, 26) 6'6 Frosh Delvon Roe from Cleveland (St. Edwards) OH, 27) 6'4 Frosh Alfred Franklin from Hammond, LA, 28) 6'3 Frosh Martell Webb from Pontiac, MI, 29) 6'2 Frosh Ronald Burks from Ft. Washington, MD, 30) 5'9 8th Grader G.J. Vilarino from Dallas, TX, 31) 5'9 Frosh Jonathan Rigg from Bronx, NY, 32) 6'1 Frosh Jamal Turner from Boston, MA, 33) 6'1 Frosh Kevon Moore from Bethesda (H.S.) MD, 34) 6'5 Frosh Gordon Drew from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA, 35) 6'1 Frosh Brett McClanahan from Charleston, WV, 36) 6'10 Frosh Bawa Muniru Allesayne from Madison (Academy) AL, 37) 5'11 Frosh Jakar Hamilton from Houston, TX, 38) 6'4 Frosh Zach Zaragosa from Irvine (Northwood) CA, 39) 6'5 Frosh Vincent Rogers from New York, NY, 40) 5'9 Frosh Larry Drew from Los Angeles, CA, 41) 5'10 Frosh Aristole Wurtz from Milwaukee, WI, 42) 6'4 Frosh Maxim Mogga from Bethesda, MD, 43) 6'6 Frosh Julian Gamble from Durham (Cary Academy) NC, 44) 6'5 Frosh Jason Smith from St. Louis, MO, 45) 6'2 Frosh Malik Witten from Charleston, WV, 46) 6'3 Frosh Rayford Shipman from Hollywood, FL, 47) 6'5 Frosh Marquis Grant from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 48) 6'5 Frosh Jamie Serna from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA, 49) 6'7 Frosh Xavier Gibson from Bothan, AL, and 50) 5'9 Frosh Percy Miller from Los Angeles (Windward) CA.  Overall, we think Clifton and Patrick Stanwood, who helped cover the tournament up until the last two days, did a great job of covering this year's 14-Under AAU Nationals, but one they probably should have had ranked a little higher is Vilarino.  Did you know that Vilarino scored 16 points against Walker in the round of 16, 25 points against Lucious in the semi-finals, and 20 points against Jennings in the 3rd Place Game?  And Vilarino's only going to be in 8th Grade!  And how could they leave 6'0 Soph Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC off the list entirely?  Nobody in the tournament was better than Wright the first two days and, as a result, if I'd been doing the rankings, Wright would have been #3 behind Lucious and Monroe and ahead of Walker and Evans.   However, maybe Clifton didn't see Wright or maybe, instead of scoring 25 ppg, which was the case when I saw him, he put up goose eggs. 

Saturday, August 7, 2004, Sunday, August 8, 2004, Monday, August 9, 2004, & Tuesday, August 10, 2004

The adidas Junior Phenom Camp this weekend in San Diego, CA was a win-win for everybody, as it provided us with a sneak preview of the top players in the 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade; Joe Keller, who is the head coach of Team California, as well as the driving force behind the adidas Junior Phenom Camp, with an entree' to many of the top young players in the future; the players with a measuring stick in terms of where they stand when compared to the other top players their age in the nation; and the parents with an introduction to the type of politics that is even worse at the high school level.  Obviously, in the last case, we're talking about the selection of the top 20 players in each class for the all-star games, which in the grand scheme of things is absolutely meaningless.  Remember, so much can happen during the next three, four, and five years, which is when these players will actually get recruited.  However, parents will be parents and, as a result, I'm sure their will be some who are less than happy with the process.  As a matter of fact, I've already heard back about one player who reportedly had a 30-point performance in one game and averaged over 20 ppg for the week.  But nobody, not even his coach, spoke up about it and I certainly don't remember anybody putting up those kind of numbers this past weekend or at most of the camps I've covered for over 20 years.  In other words, averaging 20 ppg while playing only half the game at super-star oriented is almost unprecedented and, as a result, I suspect the report was greatly exaggerated.  And just like at a lot of camps that we've covered over the years, our in-put is frequently asked for and 80% of it is usually used.  However, in the end, the people running the camp usually have their own agendas do what they want and, as a result, our rankings of the top 20 players in camp and the 20 players who made each all-star game is always somewhat different.  And when you add the fact that some of the top players (i.e. 6'1 Kearis Pinkney from Gotha, FL and 5'5 Austin Rivers from Winter Park, FL) in camp had to leave early, the selection of the all-star games becomes even more confusing.  A quick review of our 8th Grade list shows that 5'9 Michael Dixon from Kansas City, MO, 5'9 Chad Wilson from Baltimore, MD, 6'5 Michael Calhoun from Atlanta, GA, 6'4 Erik Williams from Houston, TX, and 6'4 Dartaye Ruffin from Stoughton, MA are ranked #16, #17, #18, #19, and #20, but none of these guys made the 8th Grade All-Star Game. Instead, the final five selectees were 5'7 Naji Hibbert from Baltimore, MD, 6'2 Dalton Pepper from Yardley, PA, 5'9 Curtis McGregor from Houston, TX, 6'1 Rome Draper from Rialto, CA, and 6'0 Justin Hawkins from Moreno Valley, CA.  These last two (Draper and Hawkins) both play for Keller's Team California AAU team, so this was understandable.  But even more intersting is that fact that 5'9 Chad Wilson from Baltimore, MD, who, any way you slice it, is one of the top five 8th Graders in the nation, was taken off team and replaced by McGregor at the last minute.  McGregor did manage to score 11 points, as he led his team in scoring, but we dropped him another spot in our point guard rankings, because his next pass will be his first.  In the 7th Grade Division, we thought 5'8 Benjamin Hazel from Bowie, MD, who we had ranked #6 in camp, was a glaring omission.   Also ranked among our top 20 7th Graders in camp, but not in the all-star game were Pinkney, who left camp early, 5'11 Zachary Matthews from Houston, TX and 5'3 Trevor Releford from Kansas City, MO.  Instead, 6'9 Tyler Thornton from Reston, VA, 5'9 Jamison Sterns from De Soto, TX, 5'5 Derek Brown from Torrance, CA, and 4'10 D'Marcus Owens from Neptune, NJ are the four players not ranked among our top 20 who played in the game.  But Thorton is #21, so he's Pinkney's replacement.  And we actually dropped Owens, even though we love his tenacity, competitiveness, and lack of fear while playing against big kids, out of our top 20 after watching him play against the best players in camp in the 7th Grade All-Star Game.  The five players ranked among our top 20 that didn't play in the 6th Grade All-Star Game are Rivers, who left early, Manalang, who really is 7th Grader who played in the 6th Grade Division and, as a result, was excluded from playing in the all-star game, 5'5 Christian Harris from Woodbridge, VA, 5'2 Joey Gripper from Philadelphia, PA, and 5'1 Kwai Pearson from Chicago, IL.  And, ironically, based watching the final session on Sunday afternoon, we decided to move Harris and Gripper both up and move 5'2 Nodi Newton from Kansas City, MO, and 5'1 J-Mychal Reese from Bryan, TX both down, which means we're amazingly close in this age group.  The other two players - 5'8 Devon Barker from Waukesha, WI and 5'3 Cody Keesler from Bakersfield, CA - who made the Top 20 All-Star Game, but didn't make the our list of the Top 20 6th Graders, check in at #22 and #25.  We also have to give the players in all three age groups a lot of credit for the tremendous amount of effort that they put forth from start to finish, as, unlike with camps at the high school level, the level of intensity and play did not deteriorate as the week wore on.  As for the players being big winners, not only did they get some idea where we think they stand in the pecking order, but their weaknesses also got exposed, hopefully they learned something at stations in the morning, and they got exposed to one of the types of environments in which they will be evaluted some day by college coaches.  Obviously these are all pluses, but, maybe most important of all, when each player goes back home to their junior high school or elementary school and club team environment, more often than not, he will find that he has taken his game to a higher level and, as a result, his confidence should go up dramatically, even if he had a bad weak at camp.  Speaking of players who did not play well, one of the worst players in camp was 6'1 Kelby Johnson from Davidsonville, MD.  However, he's the perfect example of how much can change in the future, as he has the potential to be as good as any player in any of the three age groups, if he works hard and continues to grow.  After all, we're talking about somebody who will probably be 7-feet tall someday and, with a lot of dedication and hard work, could develop into a both a physical speciemen and a great athlete.  Remember, big guys develop late and, as a result, the sky's the limit.  Thus, explains why Johnson made our list of the top centers in camp, even though he really struggled at times when we watched him.  There is no doubt that Joe Keller is as wired into all the top players and coaches at these age groups as anybody, but we're not sure whether the people at adidas (like Dana and David Pump) really understand just how big an advantage this could give them in the future, as they continue to go head-to-head with NIKE and Reebok in the shoe company wars.  In other words, Keller knows where all of the bodies are buried and that's half the battle when it comes to recruiting players and getting them to play in a shoe company sponored club team program at an early age.  For us the adidas Junior Phenom Camp provides a tremendous starting point upon which to continue evaluating and tracking all of these players in the future, as well as a lot of first-hand insight that will be used when we update our rankings of the top players in each of the these classes later this month or early next month.   Speaking of rankings, the cream really did rise to the top in the all-star game, as our top ranked player in camp based primarily upon performance, but also somewhat on future potential, was named the MVP in the All-Star Game in each age group.  We're talking about 6'4 LaShon Edwards from Elkridge, MD, who scored 12 points and edged out 6'3 Demetrius Walker for MVP honors in the 8th Grade All-Star Game, 6'1 Randy Collins from Houston, TX, who scored 22 points and was the MVP in the 7th Grade All-Star Game; and 5'5 Matt Carlino from Scottsdale, AZ, who scored 14 points in the 6th Grade All-Star Game.  However, Carlino would not have been our #1-ranked 6th Grader in camp, if 5'5 Austin Rivers from Winter Park, FL had not left early.  As a matter of fact, Rivers might have been the most talked about prospect in the entire camp, but we dropped him to #3, behind Carlino and 5'6 Jamal Branch from Kansas City, MO, because we think it's important to send the message that you're supposed to be on time and stay until the end.   We also find it ironic that four of our top six players in camp in the 6th Grade Division were ranked among our top eight 6th Graders when we published our rankings of the Top 6th Graders Nationally on March 12th.  If you will recall, we had Branch ranked #1, Rivers ranked #2, 5'1 Steve Taylor from Gahanna, OH ranked #3, and Carlino ranked #8.  We also find a similar scenario with the 7th Graders as 5'5 Kendall Marshall from Dumfries, VA, 5'4 LaBradford Franklin from Temecula, CA, 5'5 Ray McCallum from Bellaire, TX, and 5'6 Kenneth Ross-Miller from Lewisville, TX were ranked among the top 10 players in camp and among the top 10 players nationally when we published our ranking of the Top 7th Graders Nationally on March 25th.  However, it also is important to point out that 6'1 Randy Collins was previously ranked no higher than #32, but ended being our #1-ranked player in the 7th Grade Division.  Also ranked among our top 10 in the 7th Grader were 6'0 Jarell Eddie from Charlotte, NC, who previously was ranked #47, 5'8 Benjamin Hazel from Bowie, MD, who previously was ranked #58, and 6'4 James Johnson from North Hills, CA and 5'11 Dominick Mitchell from Silver Spring, MD, both of whom were previously unranked.  Also noteworthy is the fact that 6'1 Kearis Pinkney from Gotha, FL was previously ranked #2 in the class, but is ranked no higher than #15 on our list of the Top 7th Graders In Camp.   And the big reason is that he didn't play that hard on the one ocassion that I saw him and he left camp early.  In the 8th Grade Division 6'4 Lashon Edwards from Elkridge, MD moves to the head of the class based on his performance in this camp, but it's still close, because the only thing holding 6'3 Demetrius Walker from Fontana, CA back was his inability to make shots.  Our complete rankings of the top 6th, 7th, & 8th Graders can be found clicking on adidas Junior Phenom Camp.  I also want to thank Joe Keller for making this an extremely user friendly camp to cover and Patrick Stanwood and Dinos Trigonis for their efforts and in-put as we covered the camp from start to finish. 

Friday, August 6, 2004

Last night we confirmed that 6'5 Antonio Anderson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME picked the University of Memphis and this is huge, because 6'5 point guards with the kind of talent that Anderson has are hard to find.   We're talking about a guy who is good enough to be ranked among the top 40 nationally, if we included him with seniors (Anderson will be a 5th Year Player and, as a a result, will be ranked on our 5th Year List), as well as one of the top point guards in the nation, because he also has big time athleticism, good ball handling and passing skills, excellent court savvy, and is great in transition.  As a matter of fact, the only thing Anderson needs to work on is his outside shooting, but he still should be the perfect complement to 6'0 Frosh Darius Washington, who is an absolute scoring machine, as the two should be interchangeable at the one and two spots in the backcourt year after next.  Anderson also will probably be Washington's replacement when and if he decides to leave college early and enter his name into the NBA Draft.   Anderson tells us that the big reason why he picked Memphis over schools like Missouri, Michigan State, and Pittsburgh is because he feels like Tigers head coach John Calipari is best suited to  help him get to the next level.  But there also is another very obvious connection, as Anderson's older brother (Anthony Anderson) was recruited to Massachusetts by current Memphis assistant coach Tony Barbee.  Speaking of Barbee, who is one of the best recruiters and fastest rising assistant coaches in the business, don't be surprised if Memphis sneaks into the backdoor and gets 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.   If you will recall, earlier this week we told you that we though Tennessee was the strong leader for Gordon, but now it looks like Memphis, Texas, and Alabama have emerged as the teams to beat.  We also have confirmed that Liberty has landed 6'8 Tyler Baker from Albuquerque (Temple Baptist) NM and this too is a major steal because Baker can flat out shoot the lights out.  This comes on the heels of Liberty's recruiting class from a year ago, which was tied at #76 in our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes for 2004 and included 6'6 Rell Porter from Pittsburg (H.S.) TX, 6'11 Russell Monroe from Alma (H.S.) MI, 6'2 Evan Risher from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, 6'8 Rashad Robinson from San Jacinto (JC) TX, and 6'5 Joe Fulp from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC.  And the year before they landed 6'1 Soph Larry Blair, who was one of the best guards in the league last season.  In other words, Liberty head coach Randy Dunton and his staff have been flat out getting it done on the recruiting trail. Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis thinks it's only a matter of time before 6'7 Joe Darger from Riverton (H.S.) UT picks UNLV and it appears that 6'2 Tyler Smith is transferring from DePaul to Manhattan.  No wonder, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez is getting a new five-year contract.  And this is not good news for St. John's, because, as long as Gonzalez is at Manhattan, he'll be a thorn in the side of St. John's.  As a matter of fact, the Jaspers, not the Red Storm, appear to be the early favorites for 6'9 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, who is the best junior in New York City.  Sure, part of this has to do with the fact that Rice head coach Maurice Hicks feels snubbed because didn't get an interview for an assistant coaching position when Norm Roberts was hired as the head coach in April.   However, Gonzalez has extremely strong ties of his own to Rice High School, where he was an assistant coach prior to moving onto become an assistant coach for Pete Gillen at Xavier in 1993.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that St. John's is one of the favorites for a lot of the top seniors from the New York City area, like 5'10 Lavance Field from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'4 Ricky Torres from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'10 John Garcia from Brentwood (H.S.) NY, 6'0 Chris Lowe from Mt Vernon (H.S.) NY, and 6'10 Vernon Goodridge from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.

Thursday, August 5, 2004

Believe it or not, the only breaking news that we've picked up within the last 24-hours comes from our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson, who tells us that 6'3 Jarvis Hill plans to transfer from Starkville (H.S.) MS to Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL.  And Johnson, who talked to Hill yesterday morning, is getting it straight from the horse's mouth, which means you can write it down.  Hill, who is verbally committed to the University of Tennessee, is ranked as the #3 rising senior in the state behind 6'3 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS and 6'6 Courtney Fells from Shannon (H.S.) MS.  Johnson also reminds us that we need to once again count 6'10 Carl Swanigan from Salt Lake City (Hunter) UT, who also plans to enroll at Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, with next year's recruiting class at Ole Miss.  If you will recall, Swanigan committed to the Rebels last spring, but didn't make it academically and, as a result, is going the prep school route.  But other than that it eerily quiet.  So obviously now is a great time to use the information that our Northeast Editor Dave Schultz provided this morning about the Prime Time Shootout, which will be held February 10th-13th.  And what makes this even this even more ironic is the fact that both Schultz and myself have refused to cover this event in recent years due to the fact that it is so media unfriendly.  And our guess is that ESPN and a lot of the NBA Scouts, who have helped make this event such a circus in recent years, won't either, because there is not a long list of great players, like 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 5'11 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'10 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, all of whom played in this event a year ago and entered the NBA Draft this spring, and there is no big match-up like LaBron James versus Carmelo Anthony, which occurred two years ago.   Actually a lot of the match-ups are disappointing, as the only game that really gets us excited on the first two days is the final game of the evening between Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ at 9:00 PM on Friday, February 11th.  We also find it ironic that in some cases on Saturday, February 12th, and Sunday, February 13th, you have teams that were great in the past, but have fallen off dramatically since they last played in the Prime Time Shootout.  The best example is Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, which is scheduled to play Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 1:30 PM on Sunday, February 13th.  Sounds great, but without LaBron James, this is just another better than average team from Ohio.  However, we do like the game between Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and Bayside (Cardozo) NY at 6:00 PM on Sunday, February 13th.  Yes, the match-up between 6'9 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'9 Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, neither of whom have a reputation for always playing hard, could be good as good as it gets.  But what really gets us excited is the show that St. Patrick's head coach Kevin Boyle and Cardozo head coach Ron Naclerio, who are two of the most intense competitors in the business, are sure to provide on the sidelines.  The tournament will begin on Thursday, February 10th, at South Brunswick High School in South Brunswick, NJ with Bloomfield (Tech) NJ versus New York (Frederick Douglass) NY at 4:30 PM, Colonia (H.S.) NJ versus Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ at 6:00 PM, Franklin (Township) NJ versus Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY at 7:30 PM, and Toronto (School of Commerce) ON versus South Brunswick (H.S.) NJ at 9:00 PM.  Then, on Friday, February 11th, the venue will change to the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ, where it will be Princeton (The Hun School) NJ versus New Brunswick (St. Peter's) NJ at 4:30 PM, Burlington City (H.S.) NJ versus Richland (St. Augustine) NJ at 6:00 PM, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ versus Houston (Westbury Christian) NJ at 7:30 PM, and Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ at 9:00 PM.  The schedule on Saturday, February 12th, begins with Middle Township (H.S.) NJ versus Penns Grove (Schalick) NJ at 10:30 AM, followed by a girl's game at 12:00 PM, New York (Rice) NY versus Raritan (H.S.) NJ at 1:30 PM, Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY versus Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY at 3:00 PM, Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI versus Montverde (Academy) FL at 4:30 PM, Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY versus St. Louis (Vashon) MO at 6:00 PM, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA versus Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY at 7:30 PM, and Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA versus Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD at 9:00 PM.  The schedule on Sunday, February 13th, includes Rochester (East) NY versus Cranford (H.S.) NJ at 10:30 PM, Middle Village (Christ the King) NY versus Trenton (McCorristin) NJ at 12:00 PM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH at 1:30 PM, Montverde (Academy) FL versus Metuchen (St. Joseph's) NJ at 3:00 PM, Arlington (Bishop Connell) VA versus Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA at 4:30 PM, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus Bayside (Cardozo) NY at 6:00 PM, and Paterson (Catholic) NJ versus Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ at 7:30 PM.  While this four-day event doesn't have anybody who likely will go straight from high school to the NBA a year from now, it will feature 6'9 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'9 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 6'9 Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, 6'5 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'9 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'6 Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'4 Jr Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Uche Uchefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 K.C. Rivers from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'11 Jr Tashi Ito from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'7 Jr Shamari Spears from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 5'10 Lavance Fields from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'10 Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ, 5'11 Soph Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 5'10 Soph Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'0 Eric Price from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'6 Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'2 Anthony Farmer from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, 6'7 Brian Grimes from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'2 K.J. Matsui from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'8 Oki Ikeakor from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'7 Jr Terrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'7 Jr Jerrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'0 Chris Lowe from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'0 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, 6'11 Bamba Fall from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Jr Marcus Johnson from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 6'5 Jerard Moret from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'8 Jeremy Barr from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'8 Jr Caisem Drummond from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'9 Jr Andrew Ott from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'1 Sean McCurdy from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'10 Jr Rockwell Moody from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'8 James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'5 Jr Anthony Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'11 Vic Morris from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'0 Chris Martin from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Jr Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Jr Rob Hampton from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 5'8 Soph Malik Booth from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'3 Jr  Khasif Pratt from New York (Rice) NY, 6'5 David Neal from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'1 Vytautas Valiulis from Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'4 Stephen McKay from New York (Frederick Douglass) NY, 5'11 Jr Brian McMichael from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'8 Mike Davis from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'4 Corey Lyons from New York (Frederick Douglass) NY, 5'8 Jr Derrick Price from Burlington (City) NJ, 5'10 Jr Mark Meadows from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 6'5 Drew Gladstone from Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  In other words, there will be a lot of great juniors at the Prime Time Shootout, but the highest ranked senior in the event - 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA - is ranked no higher than #10 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And Jeff Hewitson, who is the director of the Prime Time Shootout also has to be disappointed in the fact that he didn't get some of the good teams, like Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, Chester (H.S.) PA, Manhassett (St. Mary's) NY, Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, Montvale (St. Joseph) NJ, Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and Washington (St. John's) DC, that were either right in his backyard or within driving distance to come to his tournament.  However, it won't be nearly as bad as the Prime Time Summer Shootout, which is scheduled for this weekend, at Ewing, NJ, and will feature Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Rochester (East) NY, Niagara Falls (H.S.) NJ, Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ, and a bunch of local teams.

Wednesday, August 4, 2004

All of the college coaches and most of the scouts went home with the conclusion of the Summer Evaluation Period on Saturday, July 31st, but not us.  In addition to spending Sunday, August 1st, and Monday, August 2nd, in Orlando, FL covering the 14-Under AAU National Championship, I also will be flying to San Diego, CA tomorrow morning to cover the adidas Junir Phenom Camp, which is by invitation only and features 100 of the top 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders in the nation, at Alliant International University.   The camp will begin on Friday morning and players must attend class in the morning in order to play in the afternoon and evening sessions on Friday and Saturday from 1:15 PM until 5:15 PM and 6:15 PM until 10:15 PM on both days.  There also will be two playing sessions on Sunday from 7:30 AM until 11:30 AM and 12:00 PM-4:00 PM followed immediately by the 6th Grade All-Star Game, 7th Grader All-Star Game, and 8th Grade All-Star Game.  The list of rising 8th Graders who are expected to be in attendance includes 6'3 Demetrius Walker from Team California, 5'10 Chad Wilson from Team Maryland, 5'10 Isaiah Williams from Chicago And One, 6'5 LeShon Edwards from Charm City Choice, 6'4 Jacob Mulinix from Team Indiana, 6'6 Chris Cunningham from ARC Vikings, 6'5 Aaron Moore from Team California, 5'10 Jordan Finn from California, 6'3 Terran Carter from Team California, 6'1 Dexter Strickland from Team New Jersey, 5'11 Rolandan Finch from Indiana Elite, 5'11 Justin Hawkins-Young from Team California, 5'4 Carl Jones from Cleveland Basketball Club, 6'1 Davaughn Wyre from Team Texas, 6'0 Rome Draper from Team California, 5'9 Anthony Elias from Adidas Elite, 5'4 Anthony Starks from Team Maryland, 5'8 Aaron Bowyer from Georgia Stars, 5'3 Angelo Bridges from North California Tar Heels, 6'1 Anthony May from KC Blue Jays, 6'1 Austin Hines from TG Texas, 5'11 Brad Wyche from Orange Crush, 5'4 Brandon Bibbins from ABA Hoops, 5'2 Brandon Smith from MVP Flight, 5'2 Brandon Kruzeniski from Seahawks, 5'6 Brian Oliver from Pennsauken Blaze, 5'3 Bryant Jackson from KC Blue Jays, 5'8 Bryce Layne from ARC Vikings, 5'8 Calvin Harris from NC Gators, 5'9 Chase Tapley from AAU Jr Kings, 5'4 Christian Byrd from Rising Stars Illinois, 5'8 Curtis McGregor from Houston Jaguars, 6'1 D.J Byrd from Indiana Elite, 6'2 Dalton Pepper from Pennsauken Blaze, 6'2 Darnell Jones from Cleveland Basketball Club, 6'2 Dexter Pratt from Houston Jaguars, 5'5 Eddie DiRugeris from Pennsauken Blaze, 6'4 Erik Williams from Houston Jaguars, 5'11 Eze Akwari from Space City Stars, 6'4 Finoy Perkins from Memphis Elite, 5'10 Fred Gulley from Arkansas Hawks, 5'8 Gary Franklin from Team California, 6'2 Gerald Hill from Baltimore Stars, 5'8 Gerald Glass from California, 6'2 Hunter Simmons from ARC Vikings, 6'2 Jacob Jenkins from Derek Smith All-Stars, 5'2 Jarrett Hamilton from Indiana Rising Stars, 6'2 Javorn Farrell from Team Maryland, 6'1 Jay Lewis from North Carolina Gators, 5'6 Joe McNeely from South Carolina Wildcats, 6'0 Joey Brooks from Space City Stars, 5'5 Jonathan Thomas from Louisiana, 6'2 Jordan Barrett from ARC 13's, 5'5 Jordan Brickman from San Antonio Hoosiers, 5'11 Jordan Taylor from Scholars, 6'1 Joshua Lipscomb from Houston Jaguars, 5'10 K Hollis Thompson from Orange Crush, 5'2 Keith Ellington from Maryland Kings, 6'3 Kendal Thomas from New Orleans Panthers, 6'3 Kevin Bloom from Indiana Rising Stars, 5'2 Kevin Brown from Cory Erving, 5'3 Kyle Jackson from Mitchellville, ,MD, 5'8 Kyle Odister from Pocket Jr Kings Academy, 5'8 Kyle Snodgrass from Virginia, 5'9 Kyle Wehner from Bay Shore Bulldogs, 6'1 LaBryan Smith from TG Express, 6'2 Leon Flower from Players, 6'6 Marquis Toliver from Space City Stars, 5'3 Matt Miller from Severan Park, 6'2 Max Bard from ARC Vikings, 5'8 Michael Dixon from KC Blue Jays, 5'4 Mychal Pinson from Chargers, 5'0 Naji Hibbert from Chick Webb, 5'1 Nicholas Groce from Mitchellville, 5'9 Nik Garcia from Rising Stars, 6'6 Phillip Roth from TG Texas, 6'6 Phillip Roth from TG Texas, 5'8 Randal Holt from Neo-All-Stars, 6'5 Reginald Keely from Ohio Shooting Stars, 6'2 Roberto Nelson from Team California, 6'2 Roger Franklin from DFW Netburners, 6'3 Ron Johnson from Fox Valley Skillz, 5'7 Ryan Barbre from Arlington Hoops, 5'9 Ryan Sypkens from North Carolina Tar Heels, 5'5 Sean Brandon from Rancho All-Stars, 5'10 Shawn Grant from Scholars, 5'10 Sinclair Fabor from GC Ballers, 6'2 Sir Christian Williams from Cleveland Basketball Club, 6'5 Stephen Vantreese from Indiana Elite, 6'0 Timothy Wright from Memphis Elite, 5'4 Tommy Stangl from Team California, 5'9 Trey Zeigler form MBS, 6'3 Troy Amos from Indiana, 6'0 Tyler Lamb from ARC, 5'8 Warren Williamson from ARC Crush, 6'2 Will Carpenter from GSO Panthers, 5'8 William Robinson from GC Ballers, 5'10 Willie Lyons from Newton, MA, and 6'4 Willis Hall from Charlotte Royals.  The list of rising 7th Graders who are expected to be in attendance includes 5'5 Kendall Marshall from Team Maryland, 6'1 Kearis Pinkney from Dream Team, 5'5 Ray McCallum from Houston Jaguars, 5'4 LaBradford Franklin from Team California, 5'6 K.C. Ross-Miller from TG Express, 5'6 Anthony Taylor from S.J. Express, 5'9 Jamison Sterns from T.A. Pistons, 5'5 Maurice Burns from St. Louis Gameface, 5'9 Tyler Thornton from Virginia Vipors, 6'0 Jackson Jeffcoat from TG Express, 5'1 Ahmad Starks from And One, 5'4 Aaron Craft from Team Toledo, 6'3 Justin Clayborne from St. Louis Gameface, 6'3 Adam Jones from Hoopstars/Young Brothers, 5'4 Ahmad Williams-George from Maryland Future, 5'5 Anthony Brancato from Team Houston, 5'8 Austin Brewster from Houston Jaguars, 5'3 Austin Keel from Orlando Dream Team, 5'9 Austin Kelly from Westsiders, 5'4 Austin Ramljak from ARC 13's, 5'8 Benjamin Hazel from Trailblazers, 5'8 Benjamin Jordan from Maryland Future, 5'6 Brett Comer from Yellowjackets, 5'6 Brett Meinecke from Charger Dream Team, 5'4 Casey James from 1 Tough School, 5'4 Cedrick Lindsay from Maryland Future, 5'8 Christian Vaughn from Saginaw Jr Pride, 5'2 Clayton Ragsdale from SCBA Wildcats, 5'0 Corey Spence from Baltimore Stars, 5'5 Craig Marriro from Massachusetts, 5'8 Daniel Kuhl from Orlando Dream Team, 5'9 Darius Johnson from Hoopstars/Young Brothers, 5'10 Darius Nelson from EBO, 5'0 Darryl Marshall from Memphis Elite, 5'2 Darryl Traymham from Maryland Select, 5'5 Derek Brown from School of Skills, 4'10 D'Marcus Owens from NEP Fliers, 5'11 Dominick Mitchell from Maryland Future, 5'7 Elijah Mara from Canada, 5'10 Elliott Franshawn from Space City Stars, 5'7 Jack O'Neill from Cory Erving, 5'0 Jamal Melvin from Showtime Dragons, 6'4 James Johnson from ARC Gorillas, 6'0 Jarell Eddie from Wildcats/United States, 5'3 Jason Brickman from San Antonio Jets, 5'1 Jodell Ellerby from Sam Rines, 5'3 Jordan Richardson from TA Piston, 5'7 Joseph Bailon from Dream Team, 5'4 Joseph Ferro from Florida Hoopstars, 5'11 Joseph Sharkey from Rhode Island Breakers, 5'8 Judson Hall from Charlotte Royals, \ 4'10 K.J. Smith from Westsiders, 4'10 Kaleb Clyburn from Dream Team, 5'8 Kameron Cerroni from Charger Dream Team, 5'4 Keala King from Team California, 5'3 Keron Deshields form Baltimore Stars, 5'4 Kurt Davis from Team Califoria, 5'3 Kyle Wise from Baltimore Stars, Lynnie Bradford from Baltimore Stars, 5'8 Marshall Lange from Team Houston, 5'6 Max Hooper form EBO, 5'1 Michael Hemsley from Maryland Kings, 5'5 Michael Messer from St. Louis Gameface, 5'8 Moses Morgan from Agassi Stars, 6'1 Randy Collins from Houston Jaguars, 5'0 Ray Gatling from Maryland Kings, 5'7 Reynolds Maharajh from Charlotte Monarchs, 5'1 Ryan Staten from Top Gun, 5'6 Shane Hunter from ARC Southwest, 6'1 Steve McClellan from Central AAU, 5'5 Steven Rennard from Jersey Shore Lightning, 5'2 Timothy Douglas from Team California, 5'3 Trevor Releford from KC Tar Heels, 5'5 Trey Lindsey from Austin And I, 4'11 Tyland Copeland from Agassi Stars, 5'5 Tyler Hubbard from Virginia Vipers, Tyrice Hill from Alamo City Hoops, 5'3 Vincent Dillard from Orlando Gladitors, 5'4 Will Spradling from Kansas City Blue, 5'1 William Young from Houston Hoops, 5'6 Zachary Lambert from TG Express, and 5'11 Zachery Matthews from Team Houston.  The list of rising 6th Graders who are expected to be in attendance includes 5'3 Jamal Branch from Kansas City Tar Heels, 5'5 Austin Rivers from Dream Team, 5'0 Stevie Taylor from Jaguars, 5'0 Juwan Moody from Family/AAU, 5'5 Matt Carlino from Team California, 4'11 George Marshall from Illinois Heat, 5'0 Alvin Boutte from Indy Hoyas, 5'0 Anthony Jones from Triple Threat, 5'3 Aramis Greenwood from King James Stars, 5'5 Arik Armstead from EBO, 5'5 Brandon Ford from Maryland Future, 5'2 Brandon Plummer from Tiger Nets, 5'3 Carson Wise from Delaware Heat, 5'5 Christian Harris from PW Thunder, 5'1 Clyde Smith from Houston Jaguars, 5'3 Cody Kessler form Bakersfield Ballers, 5'0 Curtis Anderson from Rancho All-Stars, 4'9 Curtis Davis from Team TG, 5'1 Dion Houston from TG Express, 4'11 Dominique Jackson from KC Tar Heels, 5'10 Dylan Admire from KC Spartans, 5'6 Dylan Goings from Agassi Stars, 5'4 Eric Norman from High Five America, 4'7 Hanif Sutton from Mighty Hurricanes, 4'7 Ian Simmons from Prince William Pacers, 4'9 Ivan Colbert from PW Panthers, 6'1 Jacob Lawson from North Carolina Gators, 5'2 Jamelle Flowers from Arlington Hoops, 5'0 Jevon Lyle from KC Tar Heels, 5'1 J-Mychal Reese from Houston Jaguars, 5'2 Joey Gripper from Cory Erving All-Stars, 4'11 Jordan Hiroshima from Hooptown, 5'2 Jordan Lord Fuller from Rancho All-Stars, 5'11 Joshua Manalang from Hooptown, 5'0 Jusha Brown from Galveston Lakers, 4'9 Kendall Hargrove from Prince William Pacers, 5'1 Kenyan Anderson from TG Express, 4'8 Kevin Wagner from Houston Dream Team, 5'3 Kyle Molock from Team Philadelphia, Kyle Whitney from Houston Jaguars, 4'7 Lashain Matthews from The Diaper-Dans, 5'1 Madison Jones from North Carolina Bears, 4'9 Marcus Hayes from PW Panthers, 5'0 Nick Ahlers from Evansville LVO, 5'2 Nodie Newton from KC Tar Heels, 5'4 Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston Jaguars, 5'1 Robert Kleinman from North Carolina Gators, 5'2 Roger Hubbard from Tar Heels, 5'0 Ryan Foisie from Houston Jaguars, 5'2 Sean Grennan from Lloyd Daniels, 5'5 Shabazz Muhammad from Agassi Stars, 5'2 Shai Fields from Galveston Lakers, 5'0 Shane Larkin from Team Orlando, 5'1 Trey Burke from All Ohio, and 5'9 Tim Peete from Tennessee.  In other words, we're not only going to get a great head start on the future, but we're going to see how the top players the 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade stack up against one another.  For more information about the camp, click on adidasjrcamp.com.  For our rankings and analysis from the camp, stay tuned!

Tuesday, August 3, 2004

The University of Alabama received a verbal commitment yesterday from 6'3 Ray George from Georgia Perimeter (JC) GA and this is absolutely huge for a number of reasons.  First, we're talking about somebody who averaged 20 ppg and 7.0 apg per game last season and will be regarded as one of the top two or three combo guards in the junior college ranks heading into next season.   Second, a year from now George should provide the perfect complement to 6'7Jean Felix from Bevill State (JC) AL, 6'2 Ron Steele from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, 6'4 Albert Weber from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'4 Glenn Miles from Birmingham (West End) AL, all of whom counted as part of last year's recruiting class and are expected to make an immediate impact this coming season.  Third, the verbal commitment by George moves Alabama's recruiting class into a tie at #21, along with LSU, Villanova, and Providence, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   Fourth, getting George should give Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried the momentum he needs, as he attempts to land 6'9 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, who is one of the top five seniors in the nation and a must get for the Crimson Tide, as his final two schools are Alabama and North Carolina.  And, if Gottfried and his staff pull this off, it would Alabama's recruiting class into a tie at #6, along with Georgia, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, even more important, it will give the Crimson Tide the great big man inside that they need, as they attempt to put all the pieces together and become one of the favorites to win the NCAA Championship year after next.  We also have received word from our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson that the University of Michigan has gotten an early verbal commitment from 6'5 Jr K'len Morris from Grand Blanc (H.S.) MI.  Morris, who was ranked #11 at the wing forward spot at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, is like a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none, which means, at the worst, he'll be a terrific role player two years from now for the Wolverines.  And, at best this versatile athletic white kid with good ball handling and passing skills and the ability to score both inside and outside has the talent and potential to develop into one of the better players in the Big-10 down the road.  As a matter of fact, Johnson calls Morris a poor man's Isaiah Dahlman.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that we had Dahlman ranked #13 overall in our final rankings from the NIKE All-American Camp.  Johnson also tells us that 6'10 Jr J.P. Gavinski from Wisconsin Dells (H.S.) WI has made an early verbal commitment to Wisconsin and 6'8 Jerome Johnson from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL has decided to attend Clemson, where he will enroll in school this fall.  Obviously Johnson's commitment comes too late to be ranked with Clemson's recruiting class, but, if we did include Johnson with this class, he would move it up from #34 to #27 in our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2004.  But that's it, as it's amazingly quiet now that college coaches are off the road and have had a few days to figure out who they're going to offer and turn up the heat on the players they really want.  Obviously part of the reason it's so slow is the fact that 46 of the HOOP SCOOP's pre-summer top 100 are already off the board.  We're talking about 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA to Georgia, 6'3 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS to Mississippi State, 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA to Louisville, 6'11 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN to Duke, 6'6 Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA to Villanova, 6'11 Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN to Notre Dame, 6'2 Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY to Syracuse, 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY to Duke, 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL to North Carolina, 6'8 Micah Downs from Bothell (H.S.) WA to Kansas, 5'10 Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA to Louisville, 6'3 Eric Devendorf from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to Syracuse, 6'7 Fendi Onobun from Alief (Taylor) TX to Arizona, 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA to Duke, 6'9 Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY to Texas, 5'10 A.J. Abrams from Austin (McNeil) TX to Texas, 6'2 Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK to Kansas, 6'4 Michael Mercer from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA to Georgia, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA to North Carolina, 6'3 Wes Matthews from Madison (Memorial) WI to Marquette, 6'5 Terrance Williams from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA to Louisville, 6'7 Joe Krabbenhoft from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD to Wisconsin, 6'7 Gerald Green from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX to Oklahoma State, 6'4 K.C. Rivers from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to Clemson, 6'7 Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC to Wake Forest, 6'2 Jerel McNeal from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL to Marquette, 6'8 Julius Powell from Newtown (Conover) NC to Clemson, 6'4 David Huertas from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL to Florida, 6'1 Josh Thornton from Wyoming Park (Caesar Rodney) DE to Georgetown, 7'0 Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Harlan) IL to Louisville, 6'9 Joey Cameron from Leeds (H.S.) AL to Tennessee, 6'5 Terrel Harris from Garland (South Garland) TX to Oklahoma State, 6'3 Derwin Kitchen from Jacksonville (Raines) FL to Florida, 6'1 Dominic James from Richmond (H.S.) IN to Marquette, 6'8 Lawrence Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ to Stanford, 6'6 Ben Raymond from Toledo (St. John's) OH to Xavier, 6'5 Jose Garcia from Charlotteville (St. Annes-Belfield) VA to Richmond, 6'6 Jaron Griffin from Manchester (H.S.) NJ to Rutgers, 6'4 Anthony Goods from Corona (Centennial) CA to Stanford, 6'2 Jarrett Smith from Romulus (H.S.) MI to Michigan, 6'6 Courtney Fels from Shannon (H.S.) MS to N.C. State, 6'6 Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA to Notre Dame, 6'2 Kyle McAlarney from Staten Island (Moore Catholic) NY to Notre Dame, 6'3 Phillip Perry from Maywood (Proviso East) IL to Wisconsin, 6'2 Anthony Farmer from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ to Rutgers, and 6'9 Laurynas Nikalauskas from St. George (Blue Ridge School) VA to Virginia.  And when you look at the top players who are still available, we think Arizona will be tough to beat for 6'6 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA and 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, LSU should get 6'7 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, and 6'9 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL will probably pick Alabama over North Carolina.  However, we do think the Tar Heels will get 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO and we continue to hear that Georgia Tech is the team to beat for 6'6 C.J. Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX and 6'8 Kevin Rogers from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX.  We also still expect 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE to pick Duke, although we're starting wonder what's taking so long.  It also would be a surprise if 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN and 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA both don't go to Tennessee.  Michigan is expected to get 6'6 Jevon Shepherd from Scarborough (West Hill Collegiate) ON, Memphis will probably land 6'5 Antonio Anderson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and Mississippi State will probaby get 6'9 Vernon Goodridge from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, although we jumped the gun on this one several weeks ago.   We also would be surprised if Connecticut doesn't get 6'9 Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, which means that Louisville and Syracuse are the favorites for 6'6 Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.   We also expect 6'11 Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA to follow his brother to California and we still are looking for 5'11 Byron Eaton from Dallas (Lincoln) TX to go to Oklahoma State.  But, once again, what's taking so long?   We also believe that, ready or not, 6'7 Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and 6'9 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL will both by-pass college next spring and go straight to the NBA.  It also a pretty safe bet that 6'5 Reginald Delk and 6'5 Richard Delk, both from Jackson (Northside) TN, will go together to the same school as a package, although a lot of the schools on their list, which includes Louisville, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida, Miami-FL, Tennessee, South Carolina, N.C. State, DePaul, and Illinois, either won't offer both of them or will already have landed somebody at their position by the time they get around to pulling the trigger.  So the smart money is on UAB.  Remember, how successful they were a year ago with Ronell and Donell Taylor, plus the Blazers don't have any early commitments and the current coaching staff has plenty of connections in Western Tennessee dating back to their days at Arkansas.  We also have to assume that North Carolina, UCLA, and Washington are the leaders for 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA.  However, stranger things have happened, like when Chris Duhon picked Duke after the Blue Devils had already landed Jason Williams in the previous recruiting class.  It also a pretty safe bet that 6'11 Brayden Bell from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT will pick Brigham Young or Utah and that 6'5 Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit (Cass Tech) MI and 6'8 Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ will stay home.  Remember, Biggs has lost some weight, but had a terrible summer and, as a result, probably cost himself a scholarship to schools like Duke and Maryland, which previously were believed to be the leaders.  And that's good news for St. John's, Seton Hall, Rutgers, and Pittsburgh. 

Sunday, August 1, 2004, & Monday, August 2, 2004

I've spent most of the last two days watching pool play at the 14-Under AAU Nationals at the at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL and the two best teams in the tournament are the P. Miller Ballers, which features 5'9 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'4 Frosh Malik Story from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'4 Frosh Demar Derozan from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'4 Frosh Zach Zaragoza from Irvine (Northwood) CA, 6'5 Frosh Jamie Serna from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA, 5'11 Frosh Oscar Bellfield from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'11 Frosh Aari Allen from Los Angeles (Windward) CA, and5'9 Frosh Percy Miller from Los Angeles (Windward) CA, and Team Next, which features 5'5 Frosh Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 8th Grader Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn, NY, 6'3 Frosh Leonard McNeil from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'5 Frosh Marquis Grant from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Frosh Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'5 Frosh Vincent Rogers from New York, NY, and 6'0 8th Grader Lamont Jones from New York, NY.  Most people will make the P. Miller Ballers, which are defending national champions in this age group, the favorite.  They have the size with Allen and Serna inside, the great point guard in Jennings, the outside shooting provided by Story, Zaragoza, Bellfield, and Miller, and the incredible slasher/athlete in Derozan, who brings the house down several times a game with the his incredible dunking ability and flare of the spectacular.  However, we might have to go with the upset, which would occur in the championship game on Saturday, August 7th, at 4:00 PM, and go with Team Next, despite the fact they had a close call today (they were down five with less than three minutes, but won by three, thanks primarily to the fact that Walker hit eight straight free throws at crunch time).  Another big reason we're willing to throw out Team Next's mediocre performance today is the fact that Lance Stephenson, who is the best rising 8th Grader in the nation, is expected to arrive tomorrow and play the rest of the week.  Another one of the big stories at this year's 14-Under AAU Nationals are the great point guards, like Walker, Jennings, 5'10 Frosh Korie Lucious from Whitefish Bay (H.S.) WI, and 6'0 Soph Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, all of whom will be ranked among the top 10 nationally in their respective classes.  We also have been impressed by a number of inside players, like 6'8 Frosh Greg Monroe from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, 6'6 Frosh Gordon Drew from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA, 6'6 Frosh Bryan Brown from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'10 Frosh Byron Mullins from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH, 6'8 Frosh Yancy Gates from Cinicnnati (Hughes) OH, 6'10 Frosh Bawa Muniru Allesayne from Madison (Academy) AL, and wing players like Story, Derozan, 6'1 Frosh Terrance Landrum from Weaver (H.S.) AL, 6'1 Frosh Done Poole from Las Vegas, NV, and 6'3 Frosh Rayford Shipman from Hollywood, FL.  The biggest bust in the tournament so far is 6'11 Aari Allen from Los Angeles (Windward) CA, who is very skilled for somebody so big and so young, but only gets limited minutes due to his inability to run up and down the court and the fact that he doesn't like to work very hard.  There also has been a lot of debate as to whether 5'5 Frosh Erwing Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY should remain as the #1-ranked player in the class ahead of 6'6 Frosh Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD and 5'8 Frosh Korey Lucious from Whitefish Bay (H.S.) WI.  However, first somebody has to give me a good reason to drop Walker other than the fact that he's only 5'5.  Besides, if I was going to replace Walker with anybody, it would be 6'8 Frosh Greg Monroe from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, who scored 27 points when I saw him for the first time ever playing for the New Orleans Panthers Select against Bay State Magic earlier this evening.  Monroe is a long lanky athlete who runs the court with the best of them, has great agility and coordination for somebody so big and so young, and can catch, pass, shoot, and make moves to the basket that are well beyond his years.  I will be leaving tomorrow morning, but for the next three days Patrick Stanwood will continue to cover the tournament and our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton will be here the rest of the week.   So stayed tuned to find out what happens, how we rank the top players in the tournament, and how this effects our rankings of the top players in the Class of 2008, which will be updated later this month.