HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR SEPTEMBER 1999

Thursday, September 30, 1999

Earlier this week we mentioned that Fordham was the leader for both 6'8 Michael Haynes from Millersburg (Military) KY and 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT. Well, one of the pieces as already fallen, because the HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that Haynes verbally committed to Fordham within the last 24 hours.  While we don't expect McMillan to do anything until after he's taken all his visits, you have to like their chances, especially since McMillan will be on campus next week for an official visit, along with 6'8 Cori Spencer from Laurenberg (Military Institute) NC, who also recently committed to the Rams.  While a recruiting class that features McMillan, Haynes, and Spencer would not come close to comparing with the current Seton Hall recruiting class, which features three great players in 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'6 Marcus Toney-El from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, it still would be a heck of a start for the new regime.  However, let's say that Fordham gets those three, plus a big man with a lot of potential, like 6'11 Yankuba Camara from Chester (H.S.) PA or 6'11 Glenn Bateman from Detroit (Central) MI, and a great point guard, like 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, who ranks #11 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And that's not as far-fetched as it sounds. Don't believe it?  Well, despite the fact that it looks like Brown is a near lock for Connecticut, he did recently add Kentucky back onto the list and whether you know it or not, Fordham has been actively recruiting him as well.  But let's say Brown commits, as expected, next month, but waits until spring to sign a National of Letter-of-Intent, because he wants to make sure that Khalid El-Amin declares hardship for the NBA after this season.  If El-Amin should surprise everybody and come back, Syracuse gets 6'2 Brian Morrison from Kirkland (Lake Washington) WA as expected tomorrow, and the other schools on Brown's list - Kentucky, Massachusetts, and St. John's - get a good point guard as well, Brown could be wide open again in the spring.  And if this were to happen and Brown decides in the end he wants to stay home, you suddenly have to like Fordham's chances, especially if they already have an excellent recruiting class that includes McMillan, Haynes, and Spencer.

The big reason why Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA is widely regarded as the premier high school program in the nation is because head coach Steve Smith has never been afraid to play anybody anywhere anytime.  At least until now!  Unfortunately Smith is balking at playing Limestone (Washington College) TN in the Super Seven Shootout in Metropolis, IL at Massac County High School on December 3rd-4th.  Smith has always had great talent at Oak Hill, but apparently he has forgotten how hard it is to get the respect that you deserve, if you get players from all over the nation and now the world, like Oak Hill and Washington College both do.  If you will recall, Dave Krider, who has done a weekly ranking of the top 25 high school teams for the USA Today during the season for years often doesn't give Oak Hill their just due for this very reason.  Perhaps Smith geography has something to do with it - Washington College is located in Eastern Tennessee and Oak Hill is located not far away in Western Virginia.  Maybe Smith doesn't want to play Washington College, because head coach Keith Allsep is competing for the same type of player that Smith is both nationally and internationally.  But the party line from Smith is that he wants to give Allsep more time to establish his program.  "There is no way I'm going to play them this year," says Smith.  "But we will probably play them next year."  All this kind of makes sense, because up until this year Washington College has had 5th year players, which  is very important if you're Oak Hill.  Remember, you can't play schools with 5th year players, if you want to be included in the USA Today's national rankings and, as a result, have a chance to win the national championship.  Obviously Smith wants to take his time and make sure which direction Washington College is heading before he plays them.  But when he finally does, you can bet that every high school tournament director in the nation will want to schedule the game.

South Florida appears to be on the verge of getting a commitment from 6'10 Michael Bernard from Coffeyville (JC) KS, who ranks as one of the best big men in the junior college ranks, and Rhode Island may be on the verge of stealing one in 6'8 Thomas Terrell from Copiah-Lincoln (JC) MS.  Speaking of Rhode Island, the Rams are in two horse race with Oklahoma for 6'6 James Wright from Winchendon (School) MA and they also are among the top two, along with Tennessee, for 6'9 Andre Scott from Limestone (Washington College) TN.

G.J. King, the Editor & Publisher of the Illinois Prep Basketball Web Site, tells us that Indiana State on the verge of getting a commitment from 6'0 Barry Welsh from Abingdon (H.S.) IL and that Fresno State appears to be the strong favorite for 7'0 Chris Alexander from Harvey (Thornton) IL.  this would make a lot of sense, not just because Alexander has academic question marks, but because there are some very strong connections that Fresno State should be able to take advantage of when recruiting Alexander.  Remember, Illinois Fire head coach Mac Irvin's youngest son (Nick Irvin) is currently a player at Fresno State and another Fresno State player (Melvin Ely) is an alumnus of Thornton High School.  King also tells us that Notre Dame had an in-home visit Sunday night with 5'11 T.J. Thompson from Kensington (Newport Prep) MD immedialtely following the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament on Sunday night.  Currently Thompson, who play on the same team with King in the Charlie Weber Tournament, doesn't rank among our top 100 nationally, but he impressed a lot of scouts and coaches and, as a result, the value of his stock is very much on the rise.

Wednesday, September 29, 1999

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Penn State has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'5 Jamal Tate from Linden (H.S.) NJ.  This important, not just because Tate fills a major need at the 3-spot, but he ranks among our top 150 nationally and has the potential to move a lot higher.  It also means the Nittany Lions are done recruiting, because they only have two scholarships to give in the current recruiting class.  If you will recall, they also landed 6'2 Sharif Chambliss from Racine (St. Catharine's) WI, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, a month ago.  So now the Penn State coaching staff can concentrate on recruiting juniors, which is big, because it gives them a major head start on getting involved with players early.  And apparently this is something they've already done, because a month ago they got an early commitment from 6'6 Jr Daren Tielsch from McKees Rocks (Montour) PA.

Reggie Tisdale, the Editor and Publisher of Indiana Basketball News, provides us with two new commitments from the state of Indiana.  Withrop has gotten 6'7 Josh Grant from Kokomo (Taylor) IN, who ranks #18 nationally by Jim Kasberg in the state of Indiana, and Wright State has landed 6'4 Braden Bushman from Mississinowa (Gas City) IN, who ranks #36 in the state by Kasberg.

We reported a week ago that UCLA was close to getting 7'0 Josh Moore from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, but sources on the West Coast tell us that Moore was denied admission to UCLA, because he didn't meet their academic standards, which are higher than the minimum standards to be eligible to play as a college freshman.  If you will recall, Moore signed a year ago with Rutgers, but was a Prop 48 casualty in the spring.  However, since that time he has met the requirements and, as a result, has been cleared by the NCAA Clearing House.  So Moore has a choice of going back to prep school for another year (last year he was at St. Thomas More, but he was only a senior in high school, so that is an option)) which would give him another chance to get into UCLA, or he could enroll at any other Division I school that hasn't started school yet this fall and be eligible to play beginning second semester this season.  We've heard Georgia Tech might be an option and a good one at that, because head coach Bobby Cremins has a great track record of developing players for the NBA.  Speaking of the NBA, going to prep school and then going hardship in the spring would be Moore's worst option.  As a matter of fact, we're not sure Moore plays hard enough to even be a good college player right now.  However, like they say, you can't teach 7-feet.

For the last 24 hours I've been pretty much out of the loop, because I've been working on our state-by-state reports from Kentucky, California, and Indiana.   The other two will be finished later in the week, but the Kentucky Report by Larry Kihnley is done.  We find it especially interesting that Kihnley only has two seniors ranked among the top five players in the state and that number would only be one, if 6'10 Jr Tony Key from Russellville (H.S.) KY hadn't transferred a month ago to Limestone (Washington College) TN.  This is important, because it really illustrates how bad the senior class is in the state this year.  However, the junior class more than makes up for it and there are some good young players in the state in the sophomore and freshman classes.  You can get the report by clicking on Kentucky Report and you can get his rankings by clicking on Kihnley Ranks 'Em: The Top Prep Players in Kentucky.

 Tuesday, September 28, 1999

We must be doing something right!  Despite an increased amount of competition in the business, things appear to be coming together very nicely.  We continue to get record numbers in terms of hits and visitors to our web site, but that doesn't mean much unless, we get subscriptions and/or have advertising that is paying us more than a small pittance.  Well, subscriptions are at a record number and finally we have an advertising company that is paying us extremely well for the ads that we have on our web site.  That doesn't mean that we still don't have bad days and make mistakes (i.e reporting the rumor that Denny Crum was going to retire as the head coach at Louisville last spring, but at least we beat Dick Vitale on the same rumor by more than a month), but we put our credibility on the line every day and our track record for accuracy speaks for itself.  If you don't believe it, just go back and look what we've written each day for almost two years as the Scoop of the Day in the Visitors Section.  And those of you who belong to the Members Section can go back and get everything we've written under Hot Recruiting Information since June 1, 1998.  I have a journalism degree from Indiana University and I take things like accuracy, attributing my sources when they want credit, and keeping things off the record when we've promised to do so very seriously.  It is easy to resort name calling and smearing other people's reputation's when you don't agree or like something somebody else has written, but talk is cheap.  Instead, we encourage you to be the judge by continuing to come  to our web site, as well as the others that you frequent on a regular basis.  Also we encourage you support our advertising by clicking on the ads that you see on the top of the more heavily viewed pages.

We haven't confirmed that 6'8 Scott Hazelton from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA has picked the University of Connecticut, but we do know that he has a press conference scheduled for 2:30 PM and the Huskies are expected to win out over Syracuse and Villanova.  Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin thinks St. Bonaventure is close to getting a commitment from 6'7 Jackie Rogers from Barton County (JC) KS.  Last night 6'8 Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY picked Ohio State, which means the Buckeyes have landed one, but still have two to get.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Ohio State is still after a guard, like 6'2 Tony Stockman from Medina (H.S.) OH or 6'6 Julius Johnson from Warrenville Heights (H.S.) OH, and another big man, like 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'10 Derek Dawes from Salt Lake City (Cottonwood) OH, 6'10 Velimir Radinovic from Oakdale, ON, 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, or 6'10 Mike Southall from West Salem (H.S.) WI.  If we had to guess, Cummings is the best bet, because the Buckeyes are the leader, while Brigham Young appears to be out in front for Dawes, Fordham is the favorite for McMillan, and Notre Dame leads Ohio State, St. Joseph's, and St. Bonaventure for Radinovic.  Originally 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC had his on-campus visit to the University of Kentucky scheduled on October 15th for Midnight Madness, but that was recently moved up to last weekend.  So both Howell and 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN were in Lexington, KY over the weekend and, while Boone still appears to be a long way away from making a decision, a lot of people think they're close to getting Howell.  As a matter of fact, several people have told us that the visit was moved up in an attempt to get it over with as soon as possible.  So once again, it is our contention that the longer it goes, the worse Kentucky's chances get.

Monday, September 27, 1999

Friday evening, most of the day on Saturday, and Sunday afternoon we were at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament, but Saturday night we took time out to go up to Cherry Hill, NJ for the top two all-star games at Rick Barrett's Gym Rats Midnight Madness, which is always another one of the highlights of the fall.  And boy, are we glad we did.  When we saw 7'0 Chris Alexander from Harvey (Thornton) IL last winter he was embarrassingly non-productive.  However, here he was the named the MVP for his team, as he scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had two blocks.  Alexander runs the court, blocks shots, and is aggressive inside, which is why he will move into our top 50 nationally when we update our nationally rankings in October.  As a matter of fact, he might be the only player 6'10 or bigger in the entire senior class who is capable of making an impact at the high Division I level next year as a freshman.  However, it appears to be too late for most schools to get involved, as he tells us his final three are DePaul, Georgetown, and Fresno State.  Taking home MVP honors for the other team was 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA with 28 points, including 13-17 field goals.  However, the player who impressed us the most for the White Team was 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS, who was the leading scorer in the game with 31 points.  In the past we had always thought of Reed as an undersized power forward, but he was a three all the way, as was evident by his 5-8 3-point shooting and ability to handle it out on the perimeter.  Maybe they put something in the water down there in Mississippi, because 6'2 Jr Maurice Williams from Jackson (Murrah) LA also went hit 4-5 3-pointers en route to a 29 point effort in the senior game.  Williams also played well in the Junior All-Star Game with 10 points and five assists  But the best performance in that game, belonged to 6'4 Jr Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who ranks #2 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and probably has his picture next to the word "consistent" in Webster's Illustrated Dictionary, because he never seems to have a bad game.  Torbert was named the MVP for the Black All-Stars, while 6'8 Julius Sensley from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT with 24 points and 6'2 Jr Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ with 19 points shared that honor for the White All-Stars in the Underclassmen Game.  In case you were wondering, Sensley is a senior according the HOOP SCOOP, because we like to move players with their class, but he played in the junior game, because he's been reclassified academically.  Also playing well in the Junior All-Star Game were 5'10 Soph Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'10 Jr Dermarshy Johnson from Oakland (Tech) CA, and 6'3 Jr Levar Seals from Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) IL.

6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL was hurt and didn't play up to par at the Gym Rats Midnight Madness, but he impress us with his decision making and ball passing (five assists).  However, even more important is what he told us after the game when he told us that his top five are DePaul, Syracuse, Miami-FL, Connecticut, and Georgia.  We had thought for sometime that Missouri was one of the leaders, so we asked him.  Sawyer said that Missouri was out, because they were going to get 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA.  So it came as no surprise yesterday when Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat told us that Stokes was going to commit to Missouri next week.  However, our sources tell us that a commitment won't be forthcoming at least until Stokes takes his official visit to Columbia, MO, which will be for Midnight Madness on October 15th.  But let's say Missouri does get Stokes.  Does that help their chances with 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA.  Once again Bryant told us that he'd really like to play with Stokes in college, because Stokes always gets him the ball.  So obviously the answer is yes.  And if Missouri can get both Bryant and Stokes to go along with 6'9 Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI and 6'5 Rickey Paulding from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, we'd be talking about a top 10 recruitng class nationally with only four players in the class.

Did you know that the University of Georgia has picked up a pair commitments from 6'7 Chris Daniels from Albany (Monroe) GA and 6'8 Steve Thomas from Carrollton (H.S.) GA.  Well, write it down!  They both picked the Bulldogs late last week.  We also are looking for Georgia to beat out Texas for 6'3 Demetrius Smith from Hogansville (Calloway County) GA and possibly 6'8 Michael Hayes from Millersburg (Military) KY.  However, right now Fordham might be the leader for Hayes over Georgia, New Mexico, Penn State, Kentucky, Miami-FL, Tulane, and Louisville.  Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat tells us that Fordham also appears to be the leader over Villanova, Connecticut, California, Fordham, St. John's, and Maryland for 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT. Speaking of Fordham, did you know that Rams assistant coach Mike Brown told us that Fordham was on the verge of having the same time of recruiting class that Seton Hall has had this fall?   Brown didn't provide us with any names, but we know that he's not talking about 6'7 Chris Dockery from Medford (Shawnee) NJ and 6'8 Cori Spencer from Laurenburg (Institute) NC, both of whom have already committed to the Rams.  So we're assuming that two of the players that he has in mind are McMillan and Hayes.  And while that would be a major step in the right direction, McMillan and Hayes, both of whom rank among the best 5th year players in the nation, aren't even in the same league with 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who ranks as the #1 senior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, and 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, who ranks #9 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.

Alabama-Birmingham head coach Murry Bartow hasn't been able to beat schools like Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Kentucky for players in his backyard yet, but he's had success when he's gone the junior college route.  This is especially evident with the addition of 6'5 George "P.J." Arnold from Holmes (JC) MS, who verbally committed to UAB last week.  Originally from Memphis, Arnold, who is ranked as high as top 10 nationally among junior college players, picked over Memphis and Alabama.  It hasn't happened yet, but 6'7 Eddie Baker from Jacksonville (Ribault) FL appears to be close to announcing for Nebraska.  The top four are still Connecticut, St. John's, Syracuse, and Massachusetts for 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, but he does confirm the fact that Kentucky is more than just a long shot.  Yale, Princeton, Georgia State, Davidson, and Houston are all involved with 6'8 Zeb Cope from Columbia (Hammond) SC, but, if he continues to play as hard as he did on Saturday when we saw him at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament in College Park, MD, a lot more big time schools may try and get involved.  The latest list for 6'5 Jameel Pugh from Sacramento (Grant) CA includes Massachusetts, Texas Christian, St. Louis, Michigan, and Southern California, but he is also talking about possibly going the prep school route.  The latest list for 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who ranks as the #1 player in the nation regardless of class, includes Louisville, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, North Carolina, Connecticut, Miami-FL, Massachusetts, and Temple.

Sunday, September 26, 1999

It doesn't come as much of a surprise that 6'1Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA verbally committed to Duke University while making his official visit yesterday to Durham, NC.  It also doesn't come as much of a surprise that Mike Sullivan of Insider's Report broke the story.  Apparently he was one of the few people in the business who was home over the weekend (nearly everybody in the business were at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament in College Park, MD or at the Pump Discovery Classic at Cal State Dominguez   Hills in Carson, CA) and, as a result, in a position to make calls and get the scoop on Duhon.  After all, Sullivan isn't nicknamed the "Wizard" for nothing.  In case you don't know what we're talking about, Sullivan has frequently been compared to the Wizard of Oz, because he never goes anywhere and, as a result, few people in the business have ever seen him.  As a matter of fact, there are those who question whether he even really exists.  All this is important, because Roy Hopkins and Kurt O'Neil of Atlantic East Hoops, both were in Durham, NC last night and they not only got word of the commitment straight from the horse's mouth, but also promised Duhon that  they would hold off on reporting story long enough to give him time to do the right thing and inform the other coaches who had been recruiting him about his decision.  As a result, Sullivan isn't a real popular person in certain circles right now.  Getting back to Duhon, Duke's gain is Kentucky's loss, as the Wildcats still haven't solved their point guard problems.  The other options right now appear to be 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, 6'2 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA, and 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY.  Or maybe the should jump back into picture with 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL or get involved with somebody like 6'4 Greg Taylor from Simpsonville (Hillcrest) SC, who was the biggest sleeper to emerge at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament.

The Tallahassee Wildcats beat the New York Ravens, 93-80, to win the championship at the adidas Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament at College Park, MD earlier today, thanks mainly to the efforts of 6'5 Tony Bobbit from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Bobbit, who hit six pointers  and scored 30 points in the championship game en route to tournament MVP honors, made all the big shots down the stretch and, as a result, has to be regarded as one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation.  If you don't believe it, just check out the box score from the quarterfinal game when the Tallahassee Wildcats beat the Tennessee Travelers.  In that game Bobbit hit 11 3-pointers en route to 40 points.  However, Bobbit, who is one of the most improved players in the nation, also had plenty of help, as 6'11 Jr Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, who ranks #6 nationally in the junior class, 6'1 Jr Charles Frederick from Ft. Lauderdale (Pope John Paul) FL, 6'7 Eddie Baker from Jacksonville (Ribault) FL, 6'5 Jr  Derek Stribling from Eagle Lake (Lake Region) FL,  6'2 Marcus Barnes from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'9 Terrance Christian from Lake Wales (H.S.) FL, and 6'8 Jr Barry Jordan from Jacksonville (Arlington) FL,  Brown was even better than when we saw him during the summer.  Frederick is an explosive athlete with good handling and passing skills.  Baker is still out of control, but he did impress us with his outside shooting.  Stribling is undersized and he doesn't have a true position, but he's good slashing to the basket.   Barnes is a point guard with a scorer's mentality.  Jordan and Christian are an excellent complete to Brown inside.  We especially liked Christian, who right now is being recruited by Tennessee Tech and a number of Division II schools.  Thus, explains why he is considering going the prep school route next year.  With all this talent it is easy to see why the Tallahassee Wildcats beat the New York Ravens in the championship game.  However, we have to give the Ravens credit, because they have a lot of heart.  As a matter of fact, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY ended the debate over the weekend about who is the best point guard in New York City.  It isn't even close!  Barrett pound for pound, inch for inch, Barrett is probably the best player in the class nationally.  He also is the best 5'9 point guard we've ever seen at the high school level, as was evident by his 12 points and 15 assists in the championship game.  However, he was much better earlier, because, like everybody else on his team, he was worn out by the championship rolled around.  Also, especially impressive for the Ravens were 6'7 Charles Henson from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'4 Chris McRae from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'4 Randy Williams from Bronx (All Hallows) NY,a nd 6'4 Peter Mulligan from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.  However, they didn't have the depth that a lot of other teams had, so it is safe to call the Ravens a major overachiever and their getting to the championship is a great story.

One of the the other big stories at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament was the emergence of 6'4 Greg Taylor from Simpsonville (Hillcrest) SC.  Right now his list of schools includes Withrop, Wofford, UNC-Wilmington, East Carolina, UNC-Charlotte, and Clemson, but that will likely change after his performance this weekend.  Taylor is an athletic white kid who reminds us in some ways of former Kentucky All-American Rex Chapman, because he's very athletic and explosive to the hole.  Plus he's very creative with the ball, has good handling and passing skills, and he has great moves, which he uses to get his shot against anybody.  However, as the weekend wore on the shot stopped falling, which is an indicator that he needs to get stronger physically.  Right now Taylor is a legitimate combo guard, but we think he has the potential to make it big down the road as a point guard.  We'll move him into our top 50 nationally for right now, but don't be surprised if he ends up much higher.  As a matter of fact, he might be a pro someday.  Another major sleeper who surfaced on the Charlie Weber Tournament was 7'0 Chris Charles from York (Crispus Attacks) PA.  Although Charles is a great athletic and he runs the court exceptionally well, physically he is rail thin and he doesn't have any desire to mix it up inside.  As a result, he was usually a non-factor inside.  As a result we weren't as high on Charles as some folks.  However, we were extremely impressed by 6'6 Jr Josh Pace from Griffin (H.S.) GA, who has six 3-pointers and 31 points when we saw him against DC Assault in pool play.  Pace, who tells us that he's already getting a lot of attention from schools like Clemson, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida State, is also an excellent student (3.0 gpa) and is a phenomenal athletic, which is why he will move into our top 15 nationally in the junior class.

Saturday, September 25, 1999

For almost two years we've been calling Indiana the leader for 6'5 A.J. Moye from Atlanta (Westlake) GA and tonight at the adidas Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament in College Park, MD, he not only once again confirmed that the Hoosier are the heavy favorite, but also was hard pressed to come up with a list that also included Syracuse, Massachusetts, Georgia, Connecticut, and Georgetown.  Moye basically told us he's going to Indiana and he also said that he thinks 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN will be announcing for the Hoosiers at the same time.  As a matter of fact, that's all he could talk about.  Moye said they plan to talk on October 25th and finalize their decisions, which will made official on November 1st.  Moye also tells us that Jeffries already knows what he wants to do - he's just waiting to take all his visits.  Another person in the know tells us that Jeffries has already told the Indiana coaching staff that he's coming.  But don't write it down just yet.  We also have other sources who are equally reliable that tell us that Jeffries has told them that there is no way he is going to Indiana.  If that weren't enough to confuse the issue, a college coach who had been recruiting Jeffries up until recently, but who is now out of the picture, tells us that based on some of the things Jeffries said, he thinks Jeffries is a lock for Duke.

It looks like 6'6 Derek Payne from Washington (Coolidge) DC, who signed with Southern University last fall, will finally end up at Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME.  Remember, Payne wanted to go MCI a year ago, but then head coach Max Good wouldn't take him, because he felt like Payne couldn't get done what he needed to academically in just one year.  Good, who is now an assistant coach at UNLV has several of his former players interested in following him to the West Coast, including 6'3 Clinton Sims from St. Catharine (JC) KY.  Speaking of St. Catharine, South Alabama has offered both 6'2 Dontae Smith and 5'10 Dominick Taylor, but we suspect that Bradley is the leader for Taylor.  However, the best player in the program appears to be 6'3 Aaron Knight.  Right now Knight, who is the older brother of 6'6 Cedric Knight from Louisville (Ballard) KY, who is ranked as high as #1 in the senior class in Kentucky, really likes the University of Texas, but as of yet, no offer has been forthcoming.

We told you several days ago that 6'4 Marvin Lewis from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD wasn't done for Georgia Tech yet, but that it was close to happening.  Well, new Montrose Christian head coach Stu Vetter confirmed that as being correct tonight. We also have confirmed that 6'7 Michael Joiner from Fayetteville (71st) NC has picked Florida State.  That means the Seminoles are 80% of the way home - they have five available scholarships.  If you will recall, Florida State already has gotten commitments from  6'7 Andrew Wilson from Kennesaw (Harrison) GA and 6'4 J.D. Bracy from Kissimmee (Osceola) FL and they are getting 6'6 Tony Bobbitt from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA back next year after a year of prep schools. .Alabama and Rutgers are the leaders for 6'2 Sherrod Teasley from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA and 6'8 Mauricio Bramwell from Burtonsville (Paint Branch) MD has transferred to Washington (Dunbar) DC.

One of the top performances of the first evening at the adidas Charlie Weber Invitational was turned in by 6'9 Taurance Johnson from Williamsport (H.S.) PA.  Right now schools like Massachusetts, Duquense, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh are showing token interest, but Johnson will likely have to go to prep school next year, because he won't graduate from high school this year.  As a matter of fact, Johnson, who is one of the fastest rising players in the class and potential NBA player, may end up at a prep school this year, because it appears that he has been expelled from his current high school.  Kevin Keatts, the new head coach at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, tells us that it's a three horse race among Virginia, Marquette, and Rutgers for his star player - 6'8 Terry Sanders. "He's visiting Rutgers this weekend and then he'll probably make a decision next week," said Keatts.  But he offered no insight into who the leader might be.  However, we're guessing it will be Virginia.

A lot has already been written about what former Duke assistants Tommy Amaker at Seton Hall and Quin Synder at Missouri have already accomplished in recruiting this fall.  If you will recall, Amaker already has commitments from 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who ranks #1 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, who ranks #9 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and and 6'5 Marcus Toney-El from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, who is a scoring machine.  Snyder landed a pair of top 25 seniors in 6'9 Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI and 6'5 Rickey Paulding from Detroit (Renaissance) MI last week and also is in great shape with 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, and 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA.  However, there is another former Duke assistant who has done an equally impressive job and we're not just talking about with recruiting.  We're talking about Mike Brey, who was 24-6 last year and has guided Delaware to the conference championship each of the last two years.  And nearly everybody is back, including last year's America East Conference Player-of-the-Year, Mike Pegues, as well as the Player of the Year in the league two years ago,  Darryl Presley, who was ineligble last year due to off the court problems.  As a result, don't be surprised if Delaware knocks off somebody big in the NCAA Tournament next March.  And just like Amaker and Synder, Brey not only appears to be a tremendous recruiter, but he probably won't leave Delaware anytime soon, unless it's for the perfect job, because he's bringing in good players right and left.  As a matter of fact, Delaware will have 6'3 Mike Ames from Pottstown (St. Pius X) PA, 6'4 Dave Lunn from Baltimore (McDonough) MD, and 6'6 Robin Wentt from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD all on campus next weekend and we think they're the leader on each of the three.  If that weren't enough, Delaware is also right there along with Siena, Boston University, Holy Corss, and Manhattan for 6'5 Mark Curry from West Orange (Seton Hall  Prep) NJ.

Friday, September 24, 1999

The school that recruits the best in the state of Indiana these days isn't Indiana University or Purdue University.  Nor is it Evansville, Notre Dame, Ball State, or Indiana State.  Instead, that distinction goes to Barton County (JC) KS, which has 6'6 Carlton Baker from East Chicago (Central) IN, 6'8 Jamal Davis from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, 5'10 Eric Bush from Anderson (H.S.) IN, and now 5'11 Jason Carter from Gary (Mann) IN all in the fold.  If you will recall, Carter was recently granted an extra year of eligibility by the Indiana High School Athletic Association, but then after receiving some negative press regarding a decision that was originally unanimous, the IHSAA changed it's mind.  As a result, Carter has to do something he originally was dead set against - go the junior college route.  How good is Carter?  Last year he ranked among our top 100 nationally and with another year of maturity, he would have been the equivalent of a top 50 senior this year.  Carter is a tremendous talent, but lacks the refinement and skills that good coaching can provide.  However, he has the potential, athleticism, and raw talent to become a smaller version of former Maryland All-American Steve Francis.  Like Francis, Carter is a prolific scorer.  But unlike Francis, Carter is a much better outside shooter.  As for the person that is behind the state of  Indiana to Barton County connection, that's Barton County head coach Ryan Wolf, who played high school basketball for his father at Martinsville (H.S.) IN.

If you recall, part of the the University of Cincinnati's self imposed penality before going on probation several years ago was that they wouldn't recruit any junior college players during the 1998-99 recruiting year.  Well, University of Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins is a tough coach to play for and junior college players often seem to respond better to his demanding style.  Huggins also has great contacts in the junior college ranks and junior college players are often underrecruited - at least early.  So it makes sense that the Bearcats would be once again be involved with a number of the top junior college players in the nation, like 6'8 Antonie Jones from Tallahassee (JC) FL, 6'9 John Grice from Shelby State (JC) TN, and 6'8 Reggie Evans from Coffeyville (JC) KS.  But that doesn't mean the Bearcats aren't still involved with their share of good high school players.  As a matter of fact, they are one of the leaders for 6'3 Field Williams from Houston (Waltrip) TX, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the class.  They also are strong with 6'5 Julius Johnson  from Warrenville (Heights) OH and now appear to be one of the top three, along with Missouri and Kansas, for 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA.

University of Kentucky fans have to be a little nervous right about now, because 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, who ranks as the #2 senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is visiting Duke this weekend.  And more often than not, that's when Duke gets their man - when he's on campus for the official visit.  Kentucky fans are hoping that Duhon will wait long enough to make his official visit to Lexington, which will be on October 15th, so they can get him caught up in the all the hype surrounding Midnight Madness.  Right now we think Duke is the favorite, but obviously the longer it goes, the more it favors Kentucky.  However, the opposite is true for one of Kentucky's other top recruits - 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC.  The longer that one goes, the more it favors South Carolina.  We are getting reports that Kentucky is now one of the favorites, along with Mississippi State and Auburn, for 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS and the word is that 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL and 6'2 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA will both visit Lexington, KY next weekend.  On campus right now is 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN and it will be interesting to see what happens if Boone decides to commit while on the visit.  Remember, Kentucky has told Boone that they will take only one point guard and whoever commits first - either Boone or Duhon - gets the scholarship.  Although we like Boone, who is a legitimate top 50 senior nationally, if they accepted a commitment from Boone and backed off Duhon, it would be a a major mistake, as well as a very unpopular move with Kentucky fans.

Thursday, September 23, 1999

The list that 6'2 Eddie Starks from Northwest Christian) FL gave us at the Five-Star Hoops Classic included South Florida, Rutgers, St. John's, Miami-FL, and Hofstra, but the heavy favorite has to be Miami-FL.  Remember, Starks left New York City, because he needed a better home environment.  So it would make sense hat he wouldn't want to return to the same inner city environment that he left to get away from.  So we'd be surprised if he picked Rutgers, St. John's, or Hofstra.  South Florida head coach Seth Greenberg is a great recruiter, but he's not going to beat Hurricanes head coach Leonard Hamilton for a kid in his backyard that he really wants.  So what is holding everything up?  Academics.  Right now Starks is a great big question mark.  Right now 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has only two on-campus visits scheduled.  He'll be at New Mexico, which needs a wing forward after losing out recently on 6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH, on October 15th for Midnight Madness and Louisville, which needs everything at the three, four, and five spots, on October 22nd.   The favorites for 6'3 Demetrius Smith from Hogansville (Callaway County) GA are Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Georgia Tech, and Louisville.

Did you know that 7'0 Josh Moore from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who signed with Rutgers a year ago, has always been a UCLA fan?  Did you also know that Moore didn't make the necessary score last spring to be eligible under NCAA guidelines and has since been released for his national letter-of-intent with Rutgers?  All this becomes important, because the NCAA Clearing House recently cleared Moore and, as a result, he is eligible to pick a school and play immediately.  And right at the top of the list is UCLA.  The only thing that is preventing this from already being a done deal is UCLA admissions office, which has higher standards than the NCAA.  And Moore isn't the only big guy that the Bruins have added who will be part of last year's recruiting class.  We had previously reported that we thought UCLA would get the fourth Nigerian - 6'8 Ominiyi Makun.  However, we have never reported this a fact.  Well, we talked to Makun when we were out West two weeks ago for Dinos Triginos' Rim Rattler Fall Hoops Classic and he confirms that he's planning on attending UCLA.  So obviously UCLA has already taken two major steps in the right direction towards replacing 6'11 Dan Gadzuric and 6'10 Jerome Moiso, both of whom are expected to declare hardship for the NBA draft after this season.

Wednesday, September 22, 1999

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that 6'4 Billy Richmond from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, who just misses making our top 100 nationally, has picked Vanderbilt over Memphis and South Carolina.   Rothman also reports that George Washington is the strong favorite for 6'5 Shawn Davis from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN and that Memphis is still the leader for 6'5 Lou Wright from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN.  However, that one isn't done just yet, because Georgia Tech is making a serious push from Wright.  Speaking of great 3-point shooters who might be heading to Georgia Tech, others in the business reported last week that the Ramblin' Wreck had a committment from 6'4 Marvin Lewis from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.  We think it will happen, but as of yet this is still unconfirmed.

It comes as no surprise that 6'4 Jonathan Howard from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ, who ranks #96 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP,  has committed to Arizona State.  This is especially important for the Sun Devils, because Howard is a great kid and an excellent student, he fits into the system perfectly, and he is another in a seemingly long line of local kids who has elected to stay home and play for second year head coach Rob Evans.  Remember, year ago Arizona State got three of the top four players in their backyard - 6'8 Donnell Knight from Tempe (Corona Del Sol) AZ, 6'6 Tanner Shell from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ, and 6'8 Tommy Smith from Phoenix (North) AZ - to all stay home.  Then, in late July they received a commitment from 7'0 Darryl Issac from Peoria (H.S.) AZ and now with Howard in the fold, the Sun Devils only have scholarship left.  Earlier we thought they might use that last scholarship on another home grown kid - 6'5 Jamal Scott from Phoenix (Shadow Mountain) AZ.  But now it looks like the Sun Devils are going after an inside player, like 6'10 Derek Dawes from Salt Lake City (Cottonwood) UT, 6'8 Patrick Dennehy from Mountain View (St. Francis) CA, or 6'8 Chris Walton from San Diego (University) CA.  As for Scott, we hear that Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Notre Dame, and St. Louis are the favorites. Also making verbal commitments yesterday were 6'10 Ryan Haggarty from Scottsdale (Saguaro) AZ and 6'1 Austin Ainge from Gilbert (Highland) AZ.  Haggarty is a steal for San Diego and Ainge, who is small, but very skilled and deadly from beyond the arc, will be following in his father's footsteps to Brigham Young.  However, a two-year mission appears to be in the younger Ainge's future first.

Auburn head coach Cliff Ellis is making an in-home visit with today with 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and, although we still Mississippi State is the team to beat, the Tigers are a lot stronger than most people realize.  As a matter of fact, if Auburn landed Rice, he would be the like the icing on the cake.  Already in the fold is 6'9 Kyle Davis from Blakely (Early) AL, who ranks #98 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but is a major sleeper - most people don't know about him, because he didn't play at a of camps and tournaments during the summer.  The same can be said about 6'7 Brandon Robinson from Huntsville (Buckhorn) AL, who also may be on the verge of committing to the Tigers.  Auburn also is still one of the favorites, along with Maryland, Georgia Tech, Virginia, and Tennessee, for 6'9 Abdou Diame from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who ranks #20 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  But now it looks like he may sign late.  If that weren't enough, Auburn also is making a strong push for 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS, who ranks #49 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Obviously if they landed all five of the above mentioned players, it would be a heck of a recruiting class.  And, in case you were wondering, that's exactly how many scholarships the Tigers have available.

Tuesday, September 21, 1999

While covering the Five-Star Hoops Classic at the College of Staten Island, we ran into problems at our hotel in North New Jersey, because the phone service was down all weekend due to flooding from the hurricane.  However, we did make other arrangements and, as a result, we were able to access the internet on Saturday and post information for both Friday and Saturday.  But since then nothing has been posted until today.  After the championship game of the Five-Star Hoops Classic, I drove all night Sunday night to get home and after taking care of the business of the day yesterday morning, I sleep the rest of the day and night.  In otherwords, I was totally exhausted.  However, I have gone back and added information for the two previous days this morning.  All this important, because if I don't do it, it doesn't get done.  With the help of numerous people from around the nation, I have religiously singlehandedly posted information for each day (except three days in early July 1999 when our labtop computer went down and we bought a new one) for nearly two years.  I am told all the time that we do the best job of any recruiting web site on the internet, but in all honesty, I think we are an underachiever.  You see, I know what we are capable of doing.  However, you can help change that by supporting our advertising!  You can do this by clicking on the ads that are posted at the top of most of the pages that have heavy traffic.  You can also encourage other web sites that you frequent to provide a link to our web site.  Obviously in both cases, this will increase our revenue and, if this happens, we all win.  I win, because I will be able to save a lot time by flying to important tournaments, like the one in New York, which I spent 12 hours each way on the road, not to mention loss of sleep, and  I will be able to get the help that I need in terms of running the business.  You win, because we can do important things, like providing you with even more information and do polls, surveys, and other neat things that we don't even have time to think about.  And maybe we'll even bring back the bulletin board or add a chat room.  Unfortunately, in the past, I didn't have time to monitor it and a few jerks ruined it for everybody.  If you come to the Visitors Section all the time, but don't subscribe to the Members Section, you can help us even more - by subscribing to the Members Section.  The cost is only a dollar a day.  If you already subscribe to the Members Section, thanks for the support and remember, you can support us even more, by remembering to click on those ads once in a while.

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin has the scoop on 6'6 Mike Skrocki from Lincroft (Christian Brothers) NJ, who is a legitimate top 200 senior nationally.  Last night Skrocki picked Richmond over La Salle, Davidson, St. Joseph's, and Pennsylvania.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson believes that 6'5 Shane Power from Gary (Andrean) IN will pick Iowa State very soon.  Like tonight or tomorrow.  N.C. State, Clemson, Providence, Massachusetts, Louisville, Oklahoma, and Kansas are all interested in 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  South Florida, Duquesne, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Hartford, and Youngstown State are showing the most interest in 6'5 TeeJay Anderson from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  The leaders for 6'4 Raymond Noiles from Boston (English) MA are Central Florida, Radford, New Hampshire, and Rider.  Boston College, Providence, Florida State, Maryland, Connecticut, Miami-FL, and Clemson are the early favorites for 6'2 Soph Marshall Strickland from Winchendon (School) MA, who was #7 in scoring in the Five-Star Hoops Classic with 19.3 ppg after the conclusion of pool play.  Xavier, Miami-FL, and Notre Dame are the top three for 6'6 Andre Sweet from New York (Rice) NY, but he tells us that he's still open and that he plans to wait until spring to sign.  As a result, other schools can still get involved.  Georgia Tech, Providence, La Salle, Virginia, and Massachusetts are the favorites for 6'7 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who confirms the possibility of a package with himself, 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ and 6'4 Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  What is really amazing is that Louisville isn't recruiting Barclay.  The Cardinals will need all the help they can get up front this season, not to mention that they have all the right connections to get Wagner, assuming he goes to college at all.

This comes as no big surprise, because we've been predicting it for sometime, but Steve Bell, editor and publisher of The Bank, a Michigan based scouting service, confirms that 6'9 Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI, who ranks #19 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'5 Rickey Paulding from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who ranks #23 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, have both verbally committed to the University of Missouri.  Both were back at Missouri making their official visits over the weekend and apparently they both decided to get it over with.  This is great news for Missouri, because it reestablishes Missouri's recruiting base in Michigan and shows that new head coach Quin Snyder can do at Missouri what he did a Duke (sign some of the best players in the nation).  But it is  terrible news for the University of Michigan, because once again they have struck out with the quality big guy who could have turned around their program in a hurry.  Remember, the Wolervines had a legitimate shot at 6'9 Jason Parker before North Carolina got back into the picture last spring and now losing Johnson makes their recruitment of 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, who ranks #18 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, even more critical.  Right now it looks like a three horse race among DePaul, Michigan, and Louisville for Brown and we continue to hear conflicting reports as to who is really the leader.  So let's just say it's too close to call.  We also hear the Wolverines mentioned with 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, who ranks #39 nationally, and 6'9 Chris Wilcox from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, who ranks #35 nationally.  But Ohio State appears to be the heavy favorite for Cummings and Maryland is the favorite for Wilcox.  However, it might not matter with Wilcox anyway, because he's not expected to make it academically. Other than that what other power forward or center is left who is good enough to step in and make an immediate impact as a freshman next year?  Perhaps 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, but right now Michigan isn't recruiting him.  Otherwise, they may have to go the junior college route, which is something Michigan has been reluctant to do in the past, or what until next year.

Monday, September 20, 1999

We reported last week that 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL has on-campus visits lined up to St. John's and Minnesota, but he does not confirm that.  He says he will likely visit Minnesota, but isn't sure just yet.  "The only two I'm sure about are St. John's and North Carolina," says Miles.  He also mentions Kentucky, DePaul, St. Louis, and Miami-FL, but adds there are several others on his list.  Miles also confirms that he and 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who is considering Connecticut, St. John's, and North Carolina, are talking about going to the same school.  If that happens, we think it will be St. John's, because Miles is still an academic question mark and, if he doesn't make it academically, the Tar Heels can't take him.  Let's say that happens and 6'1 Erick Barkley doesn't declare hardship for the NBA draft next spring.   Miami-FL could win by default.  No wonder Hurricanes head coach Leonard Hamilton was seen standing where he could watch both semi-final games - Cook was in one game and Miles was in the other - at the Five-Star Hoops Classic at the College of Staten Island.  Neither Cook nor any of his teammates on Riverside Church provided us with any insight into where he might be leaning, but Cook did tell us that he plans to sign early, which means the Cook-Miles package might not materalize when it is all said and done.  Remember, Miles isn't very far along in the recruiting process and most people in the know think he will skip college and go right to the NBA next spring.  Like everybody else, he isn't ready, but unlike some of these guys, he may have to, because his academics are major question mark.

Players are making verbal commitments earlier and earlier, but sometimes they have second thought about their decision.  A good example is 6'2 Rashid Dunbar from Bayonne (Marist) NJ, who ranks #70 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Dunbar verbally committed to Seton Hall 10 days ago, but now has reneged on that commitment and has opened his recruitment back up.  If Dunbar isn't sure where he wants to go, he's probably smart to take a little more time and look around.  But if he plans to go to Seton Hall and he's just wants a little more attention and to take a couple of visits, this might not be a very smart move.  The Pirates currently only have one scholarship available and you can bet that they'll jump back into the picture again with 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'8 J.C. Mathis from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, 6'8 Herve Lamizana from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 6'5 Jamaal Tate from Linden (H.S.) NJ, all of whom were being actively recruited by Seton Hall before Dunbar committed.  Did you know that 6'5 Jerome Harper from Limestone (Washington College) SC has been dismissed from school, because he wasn't going to class?  Apparently he'd been late returning to school on a number of occasions, because he'd gone home to Columbia, SC.  Well, now it looks like he's gone home for good, because he's now back at Columbia (Keenan) SC, which is where he was in the first place.  Remember, was in summer school at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, but was told not to come back when he missed classes to attend the adidas ABCD Camp in early July.  So then he went to Washington College.  Perhaps an even bigger question is what will this do to his academics and, as a result, will he be eligible next year as a freshman at the University of Cincinnati?  Another player who can't seem to decide whether he's coming or going is 6'5 Tremaine Singletary from Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  Singletary was supposed to go to prep school at Cheshire (Academy) CT, but now our New York City Editor Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Singletary has enrolled again at Cardozo.  And Naclerio should now, because he's the coach at Cardozo, which, by the way, won the New York City Public League Championship last March.

Sunday, September 19, 1999

He had a bad summer, but when it is all said and done the player with the most talent and the most potential in the Class of 2000 is 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL.  If you're an NBA General Manager, he's the guy in this class that you'll wish you had in five years or 10 years.  Don't believe it?  Well, just ask 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who is ranked as the #1 senior in America by a lot of people, including the HOOP SCOOP.  We did ask Griffin right after Miles broke the tournament scoring record with 41 points in their head-to-head matchup in the semi-finals of the Five Star Hoop Classic at the College of Staten Island in Staten Island, NY.  Griffin told us that Miles was the best player he's ever played against.  He also thinks Miles is ready for the NBA right now.  Miles, who also had 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and four blocks while matched up against Griffin, needs to add strength and bulk and develop more consistency, but there is no question that he's an amazing talent.  But what makes Miles so special are his incredible quickness and ability to cover so much ground so fast.  He's so explosive going to the hole that he reminds us of lightning.  Then the thunder comes when he gets one of his numerous slam dunks.  He also had four 3-pointers in the semi-finals against Griffin and he had several more in the championship game.  He also does everything else, including pass and block shots.  As a matter of fact, he's such a great shot blocker that he has a chance to block any shot at any time.  6'2 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL  found that out several times in the championship game when he penetrated against Miles and ended up eating leather.  However, the biggest reason why Miles was such a dominant force was that he did something he failed to do all summer.  Play hard!  The Bronx Gauchos upset New York Riverside Church by 25 points in the semi-finals and beat the Illinois Warriors in the championship game, 71-63, but Miles was still named the MVP of the tournament.  Another player who took his game to another level at the Five-Star Hoops Classic was 6'1 Jake Sullivan from Oakdale (Tartan) MN, who was the leading scorer in the tournament with 24.5 ppg.  Sullivan, frequently is compared to former Michigan State All-America Scott Skiles, and just like Skiles, he's a relentless competitor who dives for loose balls and always to overachieve.  He's also a winner and he was a big reason why Howard Pulley has emerged into one of the premier club teams in the nation the last two years.  Other awards went to Griffin, who was named the Best Defender; 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who was named the Best Playmaker; 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who was the named the Best Rebounder; 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, who won the award for Sportmanship; 6'3 Sheiku Kabba from Bronx (Regional) NY, who won the Mr Hustle Award; and 6'5 Dwayne Wade from Peoria (Richards) IL, who was given a special award - Mr. Courage - because he was the runnerup for both Mr Hustle and Best Defender, he was the leading scorer in the championship game with 24 ppg, and he was one of the biggest surprises in the tournament.  So was Kabba, who outplayed Cook in the semi-finals.  However, Kabba, who currently is in his 6th year of high school, still needs several credits to graduate. As a result, junior college or the playgrounds at someplace like New York's famous Rucker Park maybe Kabba's future.

Saturday, September 18, 1999

Have you ever heard of 6'5 J.P. Allen from Denver (Thomas Jefferson) CO, 6'8 Damion Fray from Huntington (Whitman) NY, and 6'9 Yamar Diene from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA?  Well they are the three major sleepers we have seen so far at the Five-Star Hoop Classic at Staten Island College in Staten Island, NY.  Allen is a versatile 6'5 athlete who can play point guard, because handle the ball against pressure and he's an excellent passer and creator.  He also makes pretty good decisions, goes to the hole well and rebounds well for his size.  He still needs strength, but if he develops a consistent outside shot, he'd be a legitimate top 100 player nationally.  And he could be a steal for the right program.  Right now New Mexico, Massachusetts, N.C. State, Wyoming, Boston University, Colorado, Colorado State, and Denver are showing interest, but his list should get a lot longer, before it gets shooter.  Fray is a big time athlete and he gets a lot done inside, but he needs to develop perimeter skills or grow in order to reach his potential.  His early list includes Xavier, Cleveland State, Boston College, East Carolina, Towson State, Northeastern, and Siena.  Diene is the rawest of the three, but he's can run the court, pass, and score in the paint.  His list includes St. Joseph's Manhattan, Rice, Central Connecticut State, Boston University, Northeastern, and New Hampshire.  The other big story so far at the Five-Star Hoops Classic is the number of young players who have really played, including 6'7 Jr Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'2 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Caver Spring) VA, 6'3 Jr Billy Edelin from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'4 Jr Chris McRae from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'5 Jr Maurice Hargrow from Highland Park (H.S.) MN, 6'0 Jr Zach Kiekow from Minneapolis (North) MN, 6'2 Mike Land from Raleigh (Leesville) NC, 6'8 Jr  Patrick Simpson from Denver (George Washington) CO, 6'8 Soph Eric Williams from Ruleville (Wake Forest) NC, 6'10 Soph Mike Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL.

Tonight 6'9 Terry Sanders from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA will be at the University of Virginia for the Virginia-Wake Forest football game and it wouldn't surprise us at all if he made an official commitment while on the visit.  This would be huge, because Sanders is one of the most improved players in the nation in the last year.  Plus he's grown to 6'8 and he really gets after it inside, which is why he's one of the few centers in the class who is ready to step in and make an impact at the high Division I as a freshman next year.  N.C. State, Clemson, Providence, Massachusetts, Louisville, Kansas, and Oklahoma are showing the most interest in 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  Minnesota, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Miami-FL are the primary schools involved with 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, but we think it's really a three horse race among the first three.  Also interesting is the fact that Boone has been told by Duke that it doen't matter who commits first - they want both 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA and Boone.  However, Kentucky only wants one and, as a result, they will only take the one who commits first.  One of the most improved players we're seen since summer is 6'7 Charles Henson from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.  He's still rail thin, but we couldnt' believe how aggressive he's become.  He also rebounds well, blocks shots, and scores inside.  Right now Hofstra, Iona, and Manhattan are showing the most interest, but he also told us that he likes Georgia Tech and Providence.  6'7 Scott Hazelton from Lawerence (Central Catholic) MA confirms that he's narrowed his list to Villanova, Syracuse, and Connecticut, but offered no hint of who might be the leader.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 Tory Reed has transferred again.  Remember, he transferred from Milford (Academy) CT to Kensington (Newport Prep) MD during the summer.  But apparently he didn't like it at Newport Prep, so now he's at Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME.

Friday, September 17, 1999

Reggie Tisdale, the Editor & Publisher of Indiana Basketball News, tells us that it's a done deal - 5'11 Austin Parkinson from Kokomo (Northwestern) IN has told the Purdue coaching staff that he plans to become a Boilermaker.  Parkinson needs to work on his outside shooting, but he's still perfect for Purdue, because he gives them something they don't have - a passer and playmaker who knows his role and makes others around him.  We also still look for Purdue to get 6'4  John Hamilton from Greenfield (Central) IN, who might just be the best 3-point shooter in the state, but Tisdale tells us that Hamilton will likely wait until spring before making anything official.  Tisdale also tells us that the Indiana State High School Athletic Association has reversed an earlier decision regarding the eligibility of  5'11 Jason Carter from Gary (Mann) IN.  If you will recall, earlier the state association ruled that Carter would be eligible this season, due to the fact that he had only played one season of high school basketball and was behind academically, because he'd been homeless for several years.  However, the state association claims to have received additional information and has ruled against giving Carter another year.  So now Carter must go the junior college route.  However, even this could be tricky, because he has to go someplace where he can get his GED first and then be eligible to play.  It's not done yet, but Tisdale tells us that Barton County (JC) KS and Hutchinson (JC) KS appear to be the two leading candidates.

Several days ago our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson provided us with the highlights from the Jerry Watson's Ohio NIKE Cup Tournament in Columbus, OH, but he didn't provide us who spent part of the day on Saturday making an unofficial visit to Ohio State and attending the Ohio State-UCLA football game.  However, he does now.  Included on the list were 6'8 Jr Adam Waleskowski from Kettering (Alter) OH; 6'6 Jr Danny Horace from Cincinnati (Western Hills) OH; 6'8 Jr Elgarce Wilborn from Springfield (South) OH; 6'5 Jr  Keith Jackson from Cincinnati (Purcell Marian) OH; 6'2 Soph  Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, who is Johnson's #1 ranked sophomore in Ohio;  and 6'8 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, who Johnson thinks is potentially the best player in the state of Ohio since Samaki Walker.  However, unlike Walker, who went to Louisville, we'd expect Williams to stay home and attend Ohio State.  Currently the Buckeyes are the early leader over Maryland, St. John's, and UCLA.

We have confirmed from several sources that Maryland is out with 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, who ranks #11 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Which means he's down to four schools - St. John's, Connecticut, Syracuse, and Massachuetts.  Also down to four schools - North Carolina, St. John's, Connecticut, and Miami-FL - is 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who ranks #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   However, don't be surprised if both Cook and Brown hold out until spring before making a decision.  Remember, St. John's with Erick Barkley and Connecticut with Khalid El-Amin both already have an outstanding point guard in the program.  However, either or both will likely opt to declare for the NBA draft next spring, which means both Brown and Cook may be on hold until then, especially if Connecticut or St. John's is going to be their choice.  Another option for Cook is still North Carolina, but if he doesn't pick the Tar Heels, they may make a last ditch effort to get involved with Brown.  If you will recall, North Carolina was involved with Brown earlier and, well, North Carolina is North Carolina!  Which means it's never too late to get involved.

Thursday, September 16, 1999

For years the legendary Howard Garfinkel has had nothing good to say about AAU and club teams tournaments, because they were always competing for players that otherwise would go to the Five-Star Basketball Camp.  But like the old saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them.  However, I still find it ironic that Five-Star will be hosting one of the best events of the entire fall this weekend at the College of Staten Island in Staten Island this weekend. The tournament will tip off a 5:30 PM and everybody will get to play on once on Friday night and twice on Saturday in pool play.  Teams in the losers bracket will get another game on Saturday night and the winners bracket games will be played on Sunday morning.  The Consolation Final and the Semi-Finals will be held at 2:00 PM and the championship will be at 4:30 PM Sunday afternoon.  The teams in Pool A are New York Riverside Church, BABC, Durham Disciples, and Full Court Express.  Pool B consists of Tim Thomas Playaz, Hampton Roads AAU, Massachusetts Wildcats, and Albany Rocks.  The Illinois Warriors, Camp Exposure, New York Ravens, and Jersey Shore Warriors are in Pool C.  Pool D has Howard Pulley, Sam Rines, Cecil-Kirk, and the Bronx Gauchos.  Among the players we are looking forward to seeing are 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Scott Hazelton from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA, 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA,  6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flosmoor) IL, 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'8 Chris Wilcox from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 6'8 Taurance Johnson from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, 6'1 Soph Marshall Williams from Braintree (Thayer Academy) MA, and 6'2 Jr Jermaine Watson from Braintree (Thayer Academy) MA.

The University of New Mexico may have lost out on 6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH earlier this week, but they continue to stock up on players who can play inside - the latest being 6'9 Malcolm Battles from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, who verbally committed to the Lobos yesterday.  Also, if you will recall, the New Mexico got a commitment recently from 6'6 Jamal Brown from Seward County (JC) KS, but he won't be eligible play at New Mexico until the 2001-2002, because he's just a freshman in junior college this year.  And over the summer they added a transfer in 6'10 Atilla Cosby, who continues to follow current New Mexico assistant Troy Weaver.  If you will recall, Cosby, who played for Weaver on Team Assault in AAU ball when he was in high school, was one of Weaver's first recruits when he got hired at the University of Pittsburgh two years ago.  So when new head coach Fran Fraschilla hired Weaver last spring, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise when Cosby wasn't far behind.

Steve Bell, the Editor & Publisher of The Bank, which is a Michigan based scouting service, has some additional  insight on the recruitment of a number of the top players in Michigan.  The University of Michigan getting 6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH and Michigan State getting 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN means the Wolverines top target is 6'8 Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI and Michigan State's #1 priority is 6'5 Rickey Paulding from Detroit (Renaissance) MI.  "Johnson is a crucial target for Michigan," says Bell.  "They haven't signed a PSL player since Robert Traylor in 1995.  However, don't count out Missouri for either Johnson or Paulding.  In fact, Michigan State is probably 3rd for Paulding behind Missouri and Ohio State."  Bell also tells us that 6'10 Brian Carter, who has transferred from Southgate (Aquinas) MI to Gibraltar (Carlson) MI, salvaged his reputation at the NIKE All-American Camp during the summer and, as a result, is now being recruited by schools like Dayton, Texas Christian, West Virginia, Ball State, and Cleveland State.  6'0 James Thues from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI has "narrowed" his list to DePaul, Missouri, Syracuse, Detroit, Marquette, Massachusetts, St. Louis, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Miami-FL.  One of the fastest rising players in the state is 6'11 Sr Chris Kaman from Wyoming (Tri-Unity Christian) MI, which is a Class D school near Grand Rapids.  "Kaman averaged 14 ppg, 14 rpg, and six blocks as a junior," says Bell.  "Plus he's a good defender.  Look for him to sign early with Central Michigan."  Marquette is still very involved with a number of kids in the state, including 6'8 Robert Brooks from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'6 Eugene Seals from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, and 6'5 Desmon Farmer from Flint (Northwestern) MI.  "Brooks, who an active defender with a soft shooting touch, likes Marquette, along with Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Rutgers, and St. Joseph's," says Bell.  "Farmer continues to be a priority - Tom Crean had an in-home visit last Thursday.  Seals is interested, too.  Speaking of Farmer, look for him to return from his knee surgery this weekend at the Michigan Mustangs' Tournament in Lansing, MI, where he is expected to remind everyone there that he's a Big 10 caliber talent."  Another interesting development, according to Bell, is that 6'0 Maurice Searight from Orchard (St. Mary's) MI appears to have increased his options, as a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner in his first full season on the gridiron, where he's emerged as a top five football player in the state.

Wednesday, September 15, 1999

We have confirmed that 6'9 Scott Merritt from Wauwatosa (West) WI  has verbally committed to Marquette University.  Although this had been expected for some time, it is still very important for new head coach Tom Crean and his staff in terms of establishing a recruiting base in their backyard.  Remember, the previous regime was unable to get the top players out of Wisconsin.  Merritt currently is ranked #77 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but you have to love his potential.  His skinny frame, long wing span, and smooth demeanor remind us of former North Carolina All-American Brad Daugherty.  Merritt has excellent moves and explosive quickness, but he needs to get bigger, stronger, and tougher inside.  Getting Merritt would be a great start, but the Golden Eagles (formerly the Warriors) also would like to get 6'9 Michael Wilkinson from Mazomanie (Wisconsin  Heights) WI and 6'10 Mike Southall from West Salem (H.S.) WI, both of whom also rank among our top 100 nationally, to stay home.  As a matter of fact, they made an in-home visit with Southall on Sunday night and with Wilkinson last night.  They also would like to get 6'8 Terry Sanders from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is one of the most improved players in the nation and, as a result, is now one of the top big guys available, and 6'6 James Wright from Winchendon (School) MA, to return home after a year in prep school.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson was at the Ohio NIKE Cup Tournament in Columbus, OH over the weekend and he tells us that 5'11 Sam Grandy from Pittsburgh (Brachear) PA, who was named the tournament MVP, hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to give Metro Index the victory over All-Ohio Red in the championship game.  As a matter of fact, this is the second time that Grandy has shined in Columbus, OH - he also led his team to the semi-finals of the Bobby Kortsen Summer Shootout in late July.  We're not sure who is recruiting him, but we suspect Grandy, who is like a jack-of-all-trades at the point guard spot,  is a bit of a sleeper.  All-Ohio was led by several of the top players in Ohio in 6'8 Josh Almanson from Bowling Green (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Robbie Owens from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, and 6'4 Dwayne Broyles from Canton (McKinley) OH.  The two semi-finals teams were also loaded.  Cleveland Top Prospects featured 6'8 Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, who ranks as the #1 junior in the state by Johnson, and 5'11 Sonny Benton from Cleveland (St. Ignatius) OH.  The Queen City Profits were led by 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, who is Johnson's #1 ranked sophomore in Ohio, and 6'5 Jr  Keith Jackson from Cincinnati (Purcell Marian) OH, and 6'5 Danny Horace from Cincinnati (Western Hills) OH, both of whom rank among the top five juniors in the state.  Johnson also has some recruiting information and news about players transferring in Ohio.  Almanson, who is one of the fastest rising players in the state, lists Bowling Green, Miami-OH, and Vanderbilt as his top three.  The early favorites for Jackson are Cincinnati, Xavier, and Ohio State.  6'5 Julius Johnson, who is the #2 ranked senior in the state, is transferring from Garfield Heights (H.S.) OH to Warrenville (Heights) OH.  6'7 Omari Westley, who ranks #3 in the senior in Ohio, is transferring from Cleveland (John F. Kennedy) OH to East Cleveland (Shaw) OH.  6'4 Chet Mason is transferring from Cleveland (John Hay) OH to Cleveland (South) OH.  Mason is particularly interesting, because he caught the eye of a number of college coaches this weekend.  He's got jet like speed and quickness, is a terrific rebounder for his size, an excellent ball handler, a good defender, and decent outside shooter.

Our Michigan Editor Steve Bell, who also publishes The Bank, which is a Michigan based scouting service, tells us that it looks like the most recent reports regarding Ed Martin's involvement with Michigan's former players hasn't hurt the Wolverines recruiting one bit.  Bell not only confirms the commitment that we reported yesterday by 6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH, but also confirms that 5'6 Avery Queen from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who ranks #25 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has committed as well.  Within the last week North Texas has gotten commitments from 6'4 Leon Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'7 Will Smith from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, and 5'11 Jerome Rogers from Dallas (Madison) TX.  Hopkins was the #3 ranked sophomore in the state two years ago, but has been sidelined with injuries ever since.  However, the word is that he's fully recovered and if he is anywhere near his old self, the Eagles have landed a good one.  Smith also has potential, but the key here is to grow several more inches.  Rogers is a jet quick point guard who can score in transition and from beyond the arc.  We also are getting unconfirmed reports about 6'3 Marvin Lewis from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD picking Georgia Tech.  This would make sense, because at last report he was done to two schools - Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin was looking forward to seeing the matchup last weekend between the top two senior point guards in the state of Pennsylvania - 5'7 Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA and 5'11 Jameer Nelson from Chester (H.S.) PA - at the Youth Interlock Mid Night Madness.  But it was not be, as they both ended up on the same team.  So with two excellent point guards to get him the ball, it's easy to see why 6'3 Carlos Hawkins from Wilmington (Howard) DE was the game MVP.  Hawkins, whose forte is slashing to the basket, is an outside shot away from being a top 100 player.  The only good note for the losing team was the outstanding play of 6'7 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ scored inside and was his usual impressive self on the boards.  There may be more, but right now we've confirmed that Barclay has offical in-home visits set up with La Salle, Providence, and Georgia Tech.  However, Georgia Tech is only one of three that is attempting to pull off a possible package with 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner, who is the #1 ranked junior in the nation, and 6'4 Jr Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is the best 3-point shooter in the class and a close friend of both Wagner and Barclay.  Remember, some folks in the know have told us that wherever Barclay goes this year Wagner will follow next year, unless Wagner goes to the NBA, which we now believe is very probable.  Getting back to the event, the Youth Interlock Mid Night Madness also featured some outstanding underclassmen, including 6'3 Frosh Arthur Bowers from Newark (Hodgson Tech) DE, who ranks among the top 10 freshmen in the nation.  Others worth mentioning are 6'4 Soph Mike Cook from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and 6'7 Jr Kevin Mickens from Baltimore (Mt. St. Josephs) MD.

Tuesday, September 14, 1999

We heard over the weekend that Temple was out and that the top two for  6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH were Michigan and Syracuse.  So it should come as no surprise that Robinson picked the University of Michigan yesterday, but we're still wondering how New Mexico let him get away.  Remember, earlier in the summer it looked like New Mexico was a lock due to the Troy Weaver/Curtis Malone/DC Assault connection.  I guess Robinson had other plans.  Instead, the Lobos have gotten a commitment from another former DC Assault player - 6'6 Jamal Brown from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD via Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME.  However, they will have to wait an extra year to get him.  Currently Brown, who signed with Pittsburgh a year ago when Weaver on the staff, is a freshman at Seward County (JC) KS.  Another major commitment that we found out about last night while we were flying across the country was 6'9 Kyle Davis from Blakely (Early) GA to Auburn.  We predicted that both Davis and 6'9 Abdou Diame from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA would go to Auburn a week ago, but we haven't told you that we think the Tigers will also get 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS.  We also have confirmed that Connecticut is out with 6'7 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA and finally 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL is starting to set up his official on-campus visits.  The two that he now has scheduled are St. John's for Midnight Madness and the University of Minnesota on the last weekend in October.  In case you were wondering why the Golden Gophers are so strong, new assistant coach Derek Thomas did an outstanding job of recruiting Miles when he was at St. Louis.  As a matter of fact, if former head coach Charlie Spoonhour hadn't retired last spring, the Billikens probably would  have stolen Miles early.

Several days ago our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman told us that 6'3 Scooter McFadgon from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, who ranks #79 nationally, had announced that elected to stay home and attend the University of Memphis.  Rothman also tells us that Memphis is the leader for McFadgon's teammate and cousin - 6'5 Lou Wright, who transferred to Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA during the summer.  The University of Oklahoma has a commitment from 6'7 Johnny Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, who ranks #59 nationally and reminds us of a poor man's Donnell Harvey with his relentless nature and ability to get it done on the boards. The leaders for 6'4 Tommy Johnson from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA are Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona State, Fresno State, Miami-FL, and Alabama.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'4 Romain Guessagba-Sato from Dayton (Christian) OH is making it official for Xavier.  This is absolutely huge, because the Musketeers beat both Ohio State and Wright State for the #1 senior in Ohio, as well as the #24 ranked senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'7 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA has narrowed his list to Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, Duquesne, West Virginia, and La Salle.  Rubin also tells us that it's official - 6'9 Marcus Gantt has transferred from Camden (Catholic) NJ to Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, which means Roman Catholic High School will have a better front line than most college teams with Gantt, 6'5 Jr Tamal Forchion and 6'9 Eddie Griffin.  Our Philadelphia Area Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'10 Mark McCarroll and 6'3 Kaison Mims, both from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY,  have enrolled in prep school at Milford (Academy) CT.  Other sources in New York confirm that Kentucky and Florida State are both out and St. John's is back in, along with North Carolina, Connecticut, and Miami-FL, with 6'1Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who ranks #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Massachusetts, South Carolina, Boston College, and Hofstra are the leaders for 6'2 Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY.  Ohio State, Iona, Hofstra, and Manhattan are now fighting it out for 6'8 Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.

Monday,  September 13, 1999

We provided you with the outcome at the Rim Battler 1999 Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic late last night, but we didn't tell you about some of the players who we didn't know about before, but who really impressed us.  At the top of the list is 6'8 Robert Turner from Anaheim (Western) CA, who right now is getting recruited by Cal State-Sacramento, Cal State-Fullerton, and Cal State-Northridge.  However, we know that schools like New Mexico and Long Beach State were impressed by him in this tournament and his list promises to get a lot longer before it gets shorter.  How good is Turner?  He's not there yet, but the sky is the limit!  When we was him, he was playing inside, where he utilized his long arms, quick hands, and excellent timing to block shots, rebound, and score around the basket.  However, he's mobile enough and quick enough to defend a wing forward out on the perimeter and the word is that he hit five 3-pointers in the game previous to when we saw him.  Our favorite player in the tournament was probably 6'7 Ben Jacobsen from Omaha (Central) NE, who also is getting underrecruited, as he's getting looks from Missouri-Kansas City, Cal State-Northridge, Cal State-Fullerton, Northern Illinois, Navy, Army, Iowa State, and Wisconsin-Green Bay.  Jacobsen isn't as athletic, but he reminds us of 6'7 Travis Watson, who signed with Virginia last fall.  Just like Watson, he's strong, physical, and is a relentless competitor inside.  He also makes a living at the foul line, because he's got great moves around the basket and, as a result, draws lots of fouls.  He also showed a 15 foot jumper and he tells us that he's expected to grow several more inches.  As a matter of fact, his father grew four inches while in college.  If that happens, Jacobsen, who already plays like he's 6'8 or 6'9, will have pro potential.  We also liked 6'8 Frosh Harrison Schaene, who promises to be the next great player at Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  Schaene is only 14-years-old, but he has great hands, tremendous body control, and lots of versatility, plus he has a knack for being at the right place at the right time, which explains why he's such a good rebounder and why he gets his hands on so many loose balls.  Another one of our favorite young players was 6'3 Brandon Heath from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is almost unstoppable going to the hole, which is why he will be ranked among our top 100 sophomores nationally. We understand that he lacks consistency, but we really liked 6'5 Jr Eddie Draughan from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA.  He handled the ball well enough to play point guard, which he's done the last two years on his high school team, and has an excellent shooting touch, big time athleticism, and excellent passing skills.  All of which makes him worth watching.  The On2Hoops San Diego Future Stars upset The Hood, which featured 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, in the quarterfinals due many to the play of 6'4 Chris Prins from La Jolla (The Bishop's School) CA.  Prins is an athletic white kid who can beat you both inside with his quickness and nose for the ball and outside with his 3-point shooting.  Wyoming, UC-Santa Barbara, St. Mary's, Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Colgate, UC-Irvine, and UCLA are looking at 6'8 DeMarcus Williams from Upland (H.S.) CA, who is intriguing because of his size - he's huge.  However, the best player on the IEBP Originals was 6'2 Jason Burrell from Ontario (H.S.) CA, who impressed us with his quickness, ball handling, and ability to score both inside and outside.  Remember the name, because 6'9 Anthony Coleman from Compton (Centennial) CA is only a 16-year old senior.  He also has athleticism, long arms, and he'll likely grow to 7-feet.  He's slow afoot, but 6'9 Jr Adam Tancredi from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA has excellent post moves and he can play with his back to the basket. One of the best athletes we saw all weekend was 6'6 Jr Michael Phillips from Mobile (Leflore) AL, but if he wants to be as good as his coach AAU Bob Gottlieb thinks he is, he needs to become more of a shooter, instead of just a scorer.  If the junior class in Southern California weren't so loaded, 6'5 Jr Kirk Snyder from Upland (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Jr Jason Harris from Upland (H.S.) CA, and 6'2 Jr  Jamaal Barnes from Rowland Heights (H.S.) CA would be getting a lot more attention.  All three are very athletic and they have a lot of versatility.  Others that we didn't know about, but who need to be mentioned include 6'6 Sherman Gay from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Austin Nichols from Berkeley (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Jr Keith Wilright from Oakland (Tech) CA, 6'6 Travis Hanour from Laguna Beach (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Scottie Stern from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA,6'8 Nick Frey from San Jose (Valley Christian) CA, 6'6 Jr Dijion Thompson from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, 6'6 Soph Jamal Walls from Los Angeles Crenshaw) CA, and 6'4 Janou Rubin from Union City (Logan) CA, 6'6 Cedric Thompkins from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and 6'0 Fowzi Abdelsamad from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA.

We've already mentioned most of the big name players in at the Rim Battler 1999 Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic at Long Beach City Junior College, but so we won't repeat ourself.  Instead, we'll focus on the guys we haven't talked about and we'll start with two guys who deserve extra special mention, because without them, Belmont Shore I wouldn't have won the tournament.  We're talking about the 6'2 Jr Derrick Craven and 6'2 Jr Errick Craven, both from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA.  We're not sure what position they'll play in college, because they don't shoot it well enough and they aren't big enough to play the wing guard spot and they don't handle the ball well enough to play the point guard spot.  However, I still want them both on my team, because they play so darn hard and they make so many things happen both defensively and in transition.  Plus, they're both great kids, as well as excellent students, which makes them especially attractive to somebody like Stanford, which has a history of taking twins - remember the Collins twins.  Another one of our favorite players was 6'8 Jr  Demarshy Johnson from Oakland (Tech) CA, who has to be ranked among our top 100 juniors nationally.  Not only does he have great hands, big time athleticism, and super quickness, which is why he's so effective in the paint, but he's so active and he plays so hard.  We're don't think 6'1 Leroy Dawson has an eligibility left, because he's a 5th year player, but this point guard from Los Angeles (H.S.) CA has a scorer's mentality and he's pretty darn good.  7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA had his moments, but his team got beat in the quarter-finals.  6'4 Tommy Johnson from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA is better than we thought he was.  He might even be a top 100 player nationally, because he's got a great upper body, excellent 3-point shooting range, the ability to beat you going to the hole, and good athleticism.  Chandler and 6'10 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA are the two big guys who get most of the national attention in Southern California's loaded junior class, but 6'11 Jr Chad Bell from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who has Kansas, Duke, UCLA, and Georgetown on his early list, has gotten really good really fast.  Not only is he more active than we remembered him being, but he's also an excellent shot blocker and good rebounder, which is why he now ranks among our top 50 juniors nationally.  His attitude turns a lot of scouts off, but 6'9 Jr DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA is tough inside and, as result, deserves to move back up in our rankings.  We still like 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, but we'd like him a lot better if he dropped some weight.  The first night 6'7 Omar Weaver from Compton (Centennial) CA shot the lights out, but he's not real good at creating his own shot and, as a result, he didn't get many open looks on Saturday and Sunday.  However, he does play hard and he passes and rebounds better than a lot people realize.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the tournament was 6'9 Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, who continues to add weight and lose quickness, which is why he's being recruited by schools like Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, Washington, and Southern California, instead of UCLA, Arizona, and Stanford.  However, Zahn is still very skilled and he could develop into an outstanding player if he picks a program that can hide his lack of athleticism.

Sunday,  September 12, 1999

Belmont Shore jumped out to a 19-3 lead and never looked back against EBO-EA Sports en route to a 58-36 victory in the championship game of the Rim Rattler 1999 Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic at Long Beach City Junior College in Long Beach, CA.  However, the biggest story of the day were the performances turned in by 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, who scored 42 points in the quarterfinals against Top Prospects and 33 points in the semi-finals against Onhoops2 San Diego Future Stars, including a stretch when he hit seven straight shots, including four 3-pointers and scored 18 consecutive points.  That's 75 points and 16 3-pointers in two game, which is the best back-to-back performances we've seen anybody put on in quite a while.  Stevenson also hit the first 3-pointer in the championship game, but after that never really got into the flow.  Maybe 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA did a great job defensively of denying him the shot.  Maybe he was tired and lost focus after Belmont jumped out to a surprising early lead.  Maybe he just had a bad game.  Probably it was a combination of all those things, but when the dust settled Stevenson wasn't even his team's leading scorer in the title game.  He only had 11 points, while 6'6 Jr Jamaal Williams from Corono (Centennial) CA had 17.  Stokes and 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA combined for 27 points and shared co-MVP honors.  Stokes, who also had 30 points in the semi-finals, proved to us once again that he's a winner, as he makes big plays and hits shots.  Which is why we like the debate so much about whether UCLA should be interested.  Right now they're not, but a number of other schools are, including Oregon State, which was in the home today between games.  Massaschusetts, Missouri, San Diego State, Texas, and Miami-FL are also on Stokes' list, but he tells us he's really wide open.  One school that hasn't shown any interest yet is Louisville, which is heavily involved with Bryant, who is his good friend and AAU teammate.  As a matter of fact, Bryant told us last night that head coach Denny Crum was one of the coaches he's been the most impressed with so far in the recruiting process.  He also confirmed it would enhance Louisville's chances dramatically, if the Cardinals got involved with  Stokes and there was a possibility that they could go to the same school as a package.  The only other schools that are recruiting both Bryant and Stokes are Oregon State and Missouri.  Making the story even more interesting is that fact that Crum was both a player and an assistant coach at UCLA, which currently has no interest in Stokes, because they've decided not to recruit another point guard, while they wait for 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who made an early commitment to the Bruins a week ago.

Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat tells us that 6'2 Tamir Goodman from Baltimore, MD has done the coaching staff a favor and solved their problem for them.  That's right!  He's backed out of his commitment and, as a result, head coach Gary Williams now has another scholarship available to use on the best available player - perhaps 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY.  Cal State-Sacramento has a commitment from 6'5 Chris Armstrong from Modesto (Calvery Christian) CA.  Right now he still wide open, but 6'4 Jameel Pugh from Sacramento (Grant) CA tells us Michigan, St. Louis, Detroit, Massachusetts, Missouri, Arizona State, and Southern Cal are all on his list.  UNLV, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Syracuse, Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State are all involved with 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who is clearly the best point guard regardless of class on the West Coast, as well as one of the quickest point guards in the nation in transition.  The early list for 6'5 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, who will move up to #3 nationally in the junior class behind 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ and 6'4 Jr Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, the next time we adjust our rankings, includes UCLA, Kansas, Stanford, and Arizona.  A lot of people like to compare Childress to Reggie Miller, which is fair, because his shooting stroke is just like Miller's.  However, he also reminds us of Keith Wilkes with his silky smooth demeanor and George Gervin with his finger roles around the basket.

Saturday,  September 11, 1999

After watching 6'5 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA do seemingly at will whatever he wanted last night at the 1999 Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic at Long Beach City Junior College in Long Beach, CA last night, there is no doubt in our mind that he's the best player in that absolutely loaded junior class in Southern California.  And that's a heavy statement when one remembers that 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA will probably be a top five pick in the NBA draft, if he bypasses college and goes directly to the league in two years.  Childress reminds us of Reggie Miller, because he's a great outside shooter and he has that silky smooth demeanor.  He also is explosive going to the hole and he always seems to find a  way to score, whether it be from outside, mid-range, or by dunking in your face.  Miller is only a junior, but Arizona head coach Lute Olson and UCLA head coach Steve Lavin were both watching his every move last night.  Lavin also was highly visible when 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA played in the final game of the evening.  So was Fresno State assistant coach John Welch.  We mention this because the Bruins and the Bulldogs are two of the leaders for Stevenson.  As a matter of fact, they had two of the first three in-home visits.  Kansas made an in-home visit with Stevenson on the first day of the evaluation period, which was Thursday, September 9th.  Fresno State will make their in-home visit on September 14th and it will be UCLA's turn on September 15th.  Georgia goes into the home on September 16th, followed by Connecticut on September 18th, Missouri on September 19th, and Kentucky on September 26th.

Another head coach was highly visible yesterday at the 1999 Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic at Long Beach City Junior College in Long Beach, CA was new San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher.  Among the players he was watching were 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA and 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA.  Right now Myles tells us there is no leader, as San Diego State, New Mexico, and Wyoming are all about equal on his list.  Stokes still has UCLA on his list, but the Bruins aren't even involved, because they promised 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman from  Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who committed a week ago to the Bruins, that they wouldn't recruit another point guard.  When asked about it, Stokes, who also has Massachusetts, Missouri, San Diego State, Oregon State, Texas, and Miami-FL on list list, seemed to take it in stride, as he said it was UCLA's loss.   We also talked to 6'7 Omar Weaver from Compton (Centennial) CA and he told us that he has no interest in following 6'5 Tito Maddox from Compton (H.S.) CA to Fresno State, which is where he enrolled a week ago.  Instead, he mentioned Missouri, Kansas State, Maryland, and Georgetown, but added that his favorite school in Kansas.  However, the Jayhawks have yet to show any interest.  Oregon State, Oregon, Washington State, Washington, and Southern California are showing the most interest in 6'9 Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA.  However, he may have trouble playing at these schools, because he's gained 10-15 lbs. since the end of the summer and is slower than ever.  Last night Kansas head coach Roy Williams made an in-home visit with 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, who also is considering UCLA, Missouri, Cincinnati, Utah, Louisville, California, Oregon State, Connecticut, South Florida, and Kentucky.  Arizona State, UCLA, San Diego State, Princeton, and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo are all involved with 6'8 Chris Walton from San Diego (University) CA.

Friday, September 10,  1999

It's not done yet, but Temple, which was in the home today, looks like a real strong favorite for 6'4 David Hawkins from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, who ranks #67 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  As a matter of fact, the only thing that might keep Hawkins from committing to Temple would be a great visit to Miami-FL, which he has scheduled for later this month.  We reported almost a month ago tahat 6'10 Kevin Garrity from Trenton (The Hun School) PA had committed to Monmouth, but now it looks like he's opened things back up for a second time (remember he also committed previously to Purdue).  However, now our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Garrity is still considering Purdue, Monmouth, La Salle, Marist, and Penn State.  Purdue appears to be the leader for 6'4 John Hamilton from Greenfield (Central) IN, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the state.  But Ohio State and Louisville are also in the hunt.  Pepperdine, Oregon, and Nevada are the leaders for 6'0 Andre Hazel from Lakewood (Artesia) CA.

Reggie Tisdale, the editor & publisher of Indiana Basketball News, tells us that he thinks Indiana will not get 6'9 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, especially after we broke the story recently about 6'10 George Leach from Charlotte (Olympic) NC being 10 points short of having the necessary score to be eligible under NCAA guidelines.  "How could something like that happen?" asks Tisdale, who points out that Jeffries' future is at the wing forward spot.  "Jeffries can shoot, pass, and handle out on the perimeter.  He doesn't want to get stuck playing center like Alan Henderson did at Indiana."  And that could happen.  As a matter of fact, with Leach and 6'9 Kei Madison, who also didn't qualify academically and is now in junior college both, failing to make it academically, the only big men in the prorgam are Lynn Washington, Jared Oddle, Jeffrey Newton, Kirk Hasten, and Larry Richardson. Oddle and Washington, who is rumored to be thinking about transferring himself, aren't good enough to even be good role players.  Hasten is solid, but you're not going to win in the Big 10 if he's your best guy up front.  Newton is talented, but he's young and extremely thin.   Richardson is very inconsistent.  With this group, even a great coach like Bob Knight and some excellent guards in the program, will be hard pressed to beat teams like Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.  And you can almost write down a pair of loses to Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, and Illinois.  That might be good enough to get Indiana eight, ninth, 10th, even last in the league and, if that happens, Knight could be in big trouble.  As a result, we'd still be surprised if Jeffries picks Duke, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Florida State, or Iowa, all of whom are still on his list, because it would be absolutely devastating to the program, if Jeffries got away.  Whatever happens, don't look for anything to happen soon, because wantst to take all his visits and make sure of his decision, which is scheduled to be announced on November 1st.   And that's the one thing Indiana has to be really worried about - the longer it drags out, the more time Knight has to do something stupid that might screw it up.

Recently the question was put to three players - 6'1 Soph Chad Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'9 Jr Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL, and 6'5 Jr Chris White from Huntsville (Grissom) AL - all of whom played for the Alabama Lasers AAU program this summer.  Who is the best player you've ever played against?  Moore, who ranks as the #1 sophomore in the nation and has more than held his own against just about everybody he's faced, said the best player he's played against is 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  "Wagner's so naturally gifted," said Moore.  "He does whatever he wants.  You can't stop him."  Erwin, who ranks #34 nationally among juniors, but who has the potential to move higher once he learns to play harder, said the best player he's faced is 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA.  "He's so athletic and he's a lot stronger than he looks," said Erwin.  White, who is undersized at 6'5, but who is build like a man-child and is a relentless warrior on the boards, said the best player he's ever played against is University of Kentucky freshman 610 Marvin Stone, who was his teammate the last two years at Grissom High School.  "When Marvin came home at the end of the summer, he'd gained 20 pounds and was a lot stronger (which is quite a statement, because Stone was huge to begin with)," said White.  "Plus he's gotten into shape again and has his quickness back."  Which is why we never dropped Stone out of our top five nationally last year.  He not only has tremendous potential, but always had great skills, moves, and  understanding of the game.  As a result, we look for Stone to start, along with another outstanding freshman Keith Bogans, at Kentucky, which should be one of the surprise teams in college basketball, this winter.  And now you know why Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith wasn't overly concerned when players with more experience, but with a lot less talent, like Ryan Hogan and Mike Bradley, transferred last spring.

Thursday, September 9, 1999

We continue to stand by our earlier report that 6'9 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL has verbally committed to Mississippi State.  We say that despite the fact that his mother and his AAU coach both have been telling people that Austin is firm in his committment to the University of Alabama.  A good journalist should never reveal his source, but if you knew who my sources are, you'd probably agree that both sources are better than either Austin's AAU coach or his mother.  So write it down!  Dave Brown, who is the uncle of 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, tells us that Connecticut, St. John's, Syracuse, Maryland, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Southern Cal all have in-home visits scheduled with his nephew.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio and Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin both have confirmed what Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat told us yesterday - that 6'1 Rashid Dunbar from Bayonne (Marist) NJ is done for Seton Hall.  Naclerio also tells us that 6'9 Leon Brisport, who signed with Providence out of L.A. Valley (JC) CA two years ago and played for the Friars last season, has transferred to Stony Brook, where he'll sit out a year and then play a year.  Also, Naclerio is reporting that 6'10 Mark McCarroll from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY has had his transcript invalidated by the NCAA Clearing House and, as a result, won't be eligible this season at Syracuse.

Today begins one of the most important times of the year in the college basketball world, because for the next two and a half weeks college coaches can make in-home recruiting visits, as well as attend the seemingly numerous tournaments and events that are going on around the nation.  In a lot of cases this is make or break time in terms of recruiting.  It also is a time when we can get another look at the seniors we saw during the summer, as well as really start focusing on the top juniors.  A good example was at the Charlie Weber Tournament in College Park, MD last September, which was when 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA and 6'5 Jerome Harper from Limestone (Washington College) TN both solidified their spots in our top five nationally in the Class of 2000.  You can get the dates and location for most of the top events by clicking on dates and future events. 

The top event this weekend appears to be Wayne Simone's AndOne Connecticut Select Hoop Challenge, which will be held at Yale University in New Haven, CT.  This is always a major event, but this year Simone appears to be have out done himself.  The top players should include 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'7 Scott Hazelton from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA, 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Ryan Gomes from Waterbury (Wilby) CT, 6'7 J.C. Mathis from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, 6'4 Marcus Toney-El from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'2 Jr Mark Jones from Norwich (Free Academy) CT, 6'4 Frosh Roosevelt Lee from New Britain (H.S.) CT, 6'0 Jr Mike Sherrod from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY.  This also could be the coming out party for 7'0 Frosh Fernando Bonfim from Trumbull (H.S.) CT.  The top teams at Simone's tournament, include New York Riverside Church, The Tim Thomas Playaz, Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, Long Island Panthers, Connecticut Select, Bronx Gauchos, The Broncos, Massachusetts Wildcats, Albany City Rocks, The New Jersey Roadrunners, Hunting Park, Connecticut Select Juniors, New York Jaguars, B-Ballers, Jamaica Youth, Jersey Shore Warriors, New Jersey Rap, Central Jersey Hawks, Sam Rines I, Metro Boston, and Rhode Island Breakers I.  Pool play will run from 5:30 PM to 11:45 PM on Friday night and 8:30 AM until 6:30 PM on Saturday night.  Then the playoffs will run until 11:30 PM on Saturday and from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM on Sunday.

The other marquee event, which will we attending, is Dinos Trigonis' 1999 Rim Rattler Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic at Long Beach City Junior College, Long Beach (Millikan) CA, and Long Beach (Jordan) CA. And just about everybody from the West Coast will be there, including 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'9 Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 66 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'9 Jr Apolinar Fernandez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'8 Jr Jack Martinez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA,  6'8 Jr Isaiah Fox from Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, 6'7 Jr Jamaal Williams from Corona (Centennial) CA, 6'4 Jameel Pugh from Sacramento (Grant) CA, 6'10 Jr Jamal Sampson from Mater Dei (Santa Ana) CA, 6'10 Heath Bailey from Beaverton (H.S.) OR, 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portand (Grant) OR, 6'9 Jr Chad Bell from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'7 Omar Weaver from Compton (Centennial) CA,6'0 Andre Hazel from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'4 Tommy Johnson from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'6 Nick Booker from LaJolla (The Bishop Schools) CA, 6'2 Jr Errick Cravens from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) FL, 6'2 Jr Derrick Cravens from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA,  6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'11 Soph Martin Ity from Ft. Lauderdale (Cardinal Gibbons) FL.  The teams include QBL-Lakewood, The Hood, EBO-EA Sports, Belmont Shore I, BWBA I, Top Prospects, On2Hoop Future Stars, 805 Express, Compton Magic, San Diego Alleycats, ICAN All-Stars, ARC-Los Angeles, Inland, Redondo, North Riverside, Bay Area Ballers, Arizona Stars, ABC, Camp Exposure, Intensity Basketball, Belmore Shore II, IEBP Originals, 1 Tough Basketball School, ARC-Burbank, H Squad, Monster of the Midway, Shooting Stars, Orange County Hawks, No Limit, Future Stars Elite, ARC-Team Dynamo, Orange County Rebels, ABA-USA Hoops, BWBA II, West Coast Academy, and Total Impact.

Wednesday, September 8, 1999

Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat has the scoop on yet another player who has committed to Seton Hall.  This afternoon 6'3 Rashid Dunbar from Bayonne (Marist) NJ, who ranks #70 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, told the Pirates coaching staff that he will sign with Seton Hall this fall.  With Dunbar now in the fold and commitments earlier from 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'5 Marcus Toney-El from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, Seton Hall has the best recruiting class by far in the nation thus far.  However, the #1 ranked player (Griffin), the #9 ranked player (Barrett), the #27 ranked player (Toney-El), and the #70 ranked player #70 (Dunbar) don't necessary ensure that you will have the #1 ranked class when it is all said and done.  As a matter of fact, in our final rankings last year this group would have been tied for 8th nationally with Cincinnati and the year before they would have been ranked #7  behind Auburn.  All this important, because Seton Hall is out of scholarships and unless something happens during the winter, the Pirates won't add any more players to this recruiting class.  But it really doesn't matter, because they've already moved into the upper echelon of the Big East.

If you will recall, Auburn had a great recruiting year two years ago, but now they have to reload again.  So it should come as no surprise that the Tiges on are on the verge of getting commitment from 6'9 Abdou Diame from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who ranks #20 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'9 Kyle Davis from Blakely (Early) GA, who ranks #98 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  It was a two horse race between Auburn and Florida, but we believe Davis will make it official for Auburn next week.  Diame may be a little bit more open, as Auburn, Tennessee, Furman, Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, and Clemson are all expected to make official visits.  However, we think Auburn and Virginia are way out in front and our guess is that Virginia will get 6'8 Terry Sanders from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  So when that happens, they will drop out of the Diame sweepstakes.

Miami-FL is the newest school on the list of 6'4 Jr Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation regardless of class.  New Mexico, Miami-FL, and Louisville are the only three schools that currently have in-home visits set up with 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, but more schools may be added to the list if he isn't impressed by one of those three.  Duquesne, Mt. St. Mary's, Marshall, and James Madison have offered 6'2 Chris Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.

The word on the street is that Maryland is going to renege on their scholarship offer to 6'3 Tamir Goodman from Baltimore, MD, who is solid, but definitely not the Jewish Jordan.  Fortunately we weren't dump enough to jump on the bandwagon, but at least one of those who did, is now blaming the media for all the overhype.  Only in the recruiting business!  Instead, it looks like Maryland is making a major push for 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, who ranks #11 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Maryland also appears to be the leader for 6'9 Chris Wilcox from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, who is ranked as the #1 senior in the state of North Carolina by the HOOP SCOOP.

Apparently we missed the commitment that 6'4 Jimmy Baxter from St. Petersburg (Boca Ciega) FL made to South Florida some time ago, but it's is important to mention, because several people in the know in the Florida think Baxter is a major sleeper, especially after his impressive performance in the National 17-Under AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL in July.  As a result, head coach Seth Greenberg continues to do what we thought was impossible - get good players at South Florida.  Also there have been a number of transfers in the state of Florida, like 6'5 Soph Antonio Lawrence moving from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL to Jacksonville (Jackson) FL and 6'4 J.D. Bracy, who transferred from Kissimmee (Osceola) FL to Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL in the spring, has returned to Osceola High School.  Donnie Wilkie, the tournament director for the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic tells us that he has the best player in the nation once again for the third straight season.  We're talking about 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  That's right!  The state association has lifted the suspension on non-league games and Camden will be playing this winter in Wilkie's tournament.  Wilkie also is expected to have several of the top seniors, including 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, who will be using this venue to convince us that he's the #1 senior in America.  If you will recall, we missed his incredible performance at the Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions in the spring and he was hurt and, as a result, not on top of his game when we saw him in July at the adidas ABCD Camp in Teneck, NJ and the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.

Tuesday, September 7, 1999

Remember the University of Iowa got what might have been the earliest commitment ever from 6'2 Soph Jeff Hoerner from Mason City (H.S.) IA, who picked the Hawkeyes late in his freshman year of high school, last spring.  At the time, we mentioned that Hoerner, who is the coach's son, was better than Dean Oliver, who is the best player to ever play at Mason City, at the same stage.  As a matter of fact,  Hoerner, who is only 14-years-old, broke all of Oliver's freshman scoring records last season, was named second team all-state in Iowa as a freshman, and was voted the outstanding athlete in the school in four different sports.  Believe it or not, he was the starting quarterback on the varsity in football, the starting point guard on the varsity in basketball, a starting pitcher and the starting catcher when he wasn't pitching in baseball, and is an outstanding track star in 100 meters, 200 meters, and broad jump.  He also has great quickness, super speed, excellent skills, already can dunk with ease with either hand, and usually excels when playing against players much older.  Not only did he more than hold his own this summer, while playing on the 19-Under Martin Brothers AAU team, which included Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich, both of whom signed with Kansas a year ago, and 6'7 Glen Worley from Iowa City (West) IA, but he was one of the best players on the team.   How good is Hoerner?  He might just be in the same class with players like 6'1 Soph Chad Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'4 Soph Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL, 6'1 Soph Anthony Roberson from  Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'1 Soph Marshall Strickland from Braintree (Thayer Academy) M, all of whom have clearly shown that they deserve to be ranked among the top five sophomores in the nation.  So if Hoerner becomes the sleeper in this group, remember where you heard it first!

Speaking of the University of Iowa, new head coach Steve Alford may have  up to eight scholarships to give in the current recruiting class and he's already off to a terrific start.  If you will recall, he got commitments late in the spring from 6'8 Glen Worley from Iowa City (West) IA and 6'9 Sean Sonderleiter from Des Moines (Christian) IA. Plus, he got the sharpshooting Ryan Hogan, who transferred from Kentucky.  Then, Alford got 6'1 Brody Boyd from Dugger (Union) IN during the NIKE All-American Camp and even more recently he got a commitment 6'6 Courtney Scott from Lansing (Waverly) MI.  Which leaves Alford with three more scholarships to give.  At the top of his wish list is 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, who ranks #7 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, we think Jeffries is a near lock for Indiana - at least he'd better be, because Indiana needs all the help they can get inside.  Instead, the guy we hear the Hawkeyes lead on is 6'11 Jared Reiner from Tripp (Tripp-Delmont) SD, who ranks #65 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  They're also involved with another big guy we liked at the adidas ABCD Camp this summer - 7'0 Jon Godfread from Grand Forks (Crow Creek) ND - as well as 6'6 Rickey Paulding from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'5 Desmon Farmer from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'6 Jason Edwin from Warsaw (H.S.) WI, 6'9 Michael Wilkinson from Mazomanie (Wisconsin Heights) WI, and some of the top junior college players in the nation.  And if they don't get who they want in the senior class, they may just hold off until next year.  Remember, Alford still has tremendous popularity and support in the state of Indiana, which is why Iowa is already one of the early favorites for 6'1 Jr Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'7 Jr  Sean Kline from Huntington (North) IN, and 6'4 Jr Dennis Coutee from Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN, who are the top three juniors in the state.

We are up to three years behind on certain state-by-state reports, but we are hoping change that this fall, unless we have another computer disaster, like we did in early July.  In the next week we plan to have Kentucky, Indiana, and California completely finished and a big reason why we should be able to meet the deadline is that Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report is already done.  No Allen!  You can't make any more changes or additions.  However, he hardly needs to, as the senior class includes 482 players ranked in order, followed by 338 juniors, 214 sophomores 121 freshmen, 29 8th graders and three 7th graders, all also ranked in order.  Rubin also has some interesting comments about 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who ranks as the #1 senior in America by the HOOP SCOOP, but only the #2 player in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area.  Remember, 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ is the HOOP SCOOP's #1 ranked player nationally regardless of class.  To get Rubin's report, click on Philadelphia Area Report and to get his ranks of the top players in each class, click on Rubin Ranks 'em: The Top Players in Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey.

Monday, September 6, 1999

It looks like Fresno State head coach Jerry Tarkanian is bringing all the home boys home.  Recently Chris Jeffries transferred back from Arkansas and now the Bulldogs are getting Shannon Swillis, who is transferring from Southern California, although he will only have one year of eligibility left after he sits out the 1999-2000 season.  Obviously this should help Fresno State in their quest to keep 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA home.  Stevenson, who ranks #5 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is probably the most recruit for Tarkanian since Ed O'Bannon and Shon Tarver.  Remember, both O'Bannon and Tarver picked UNLV, but ended up at UCLA when the Runnin' Rebels went on probation.  However, had they gone to UNLV, it would have given legitimacy to the program that Tark  never could have brought to it on his own.  The same is true now at Fresno State, which is doing its best to both change it's image and get into the NCAA Tournament.  That's right!  Despite all the talent they've gotten at Fresno State during the Tarkanian era, they have yet to get into the NCAA Tournament.  However, getting Stevenson would likely change all that, because he's the best player to ever come out Fresno and he's also a pretty good kid.  Right now Stevenson's list includes Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Missouri, Connecticut, Stanford, and Fresno State, even though he says he wants to get away from home when he goes to college.  However, the fact that Stevenson doesn't plan to sign until spring gives Tark all the time he needs to change his mind.

Yesterday Ron Briscoe reported that 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, had verbally committed to Georgetown. Well, this morning Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat talked with Rice.  Not only has Rice not committed to Georgetown, but they aren't even on his list.  Mississippi State, Florida State, Arkansas, Duke, and Kentucky were the schools we had and Jira tells us that Auburn should also be mentioned.  Obviously Briscoe needs to do a better job of checking his sources, but before we jump on his case too hard, we should point out that it can happen to anybody.  As a matter of fact, right now we're hanging out there ourself, after reporting on Friday that 6'9 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL was reneging on Crimson Tide and will commit to Mississippi State.  After further checking, Austin's mother says her son is firmly committed Alabama.  However, we stand by our original report, because our source is every bit as credible as the mother.  We're getting reports from too many people in the know in Alabama, Mississippi, and Memphis that Mississippi State has been working on Austin for over month in an attempt to get this done.  So no, we aren't out in left field like Briscoe.  Just give us a little time and watch the Austin thing materialize.

Today we went back and retraced the order in which all the commitments have come in thus far for the Class of 2000 and we will keep a running list from now until next spring.  You can get this list by clicking on recent signings and commitments.  While compiling this list it became especially clear just how much action there was in early August, as well as how slow it's been during the last week.  As a matter of fact, since 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI and 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN both committed to Michigan State a week ago, we've only picked up five new commitments, including 6'3 Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who made an early commitment to UCLA over the weekend, and 6'11 Jason Klotz from Houston (Klein Forest) TX, who decided on the University of Texas today.  Klotz, who is the third player to commit to Texas this fall, has a lot of potential, but he didn't have a good summer while playing for the Houston Hoops.  Speaking of the Houston Hoops, 6'7 Nick Anderson from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) TX  made an official visit to the University of Houston over the weekend and 6'10 Nolan Butterfras from Houston (Cypress Creek) TX will likely commit to Texas A&M in the near future.

Sunday, September 5, 1999

We have confirmed that 6'3 Cedric Bozeman from Mater Dei (Santa Ana) CA, who ranks #39 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, among juniors has made an early commitment to UCLA.  This comes as somewhat of a surprise, because if you will recall, Bozeman, 6'6 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA and 6'10 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA had been talking about going to Kansas together as a possible package.  What changed his mind?  We hear it happened several weeks ago when Pat Barrett, the AAU coach of the Southern California All-Stars, took Bozeman, Childress, Sampson, and 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA to Westwood for an unofficial visit.  Making the story even intriguing is the fact that the UCLA coaching staff promised Bozeman that they wouldn't recruit another point guard.  This definitely impacts 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA, who has always wanted to go to UCLA, but had never received an offer by the Bruins.   We also have to wonder if this will effect their recruitment of 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, who ranks #5 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, Stevenson keeps telling everybody that he's a point guard.  So does this mean UCLA, which appears to be the leader, will stop recruiting him?  Speaking of playing out of position, Bozeman can play some point guard, but his best position is the 2-spot.  Which means UCLA will only have one player who even resembles a point guard - Earl Watson - the next two years, while they wait for Bozeman, who is nothing more than a combo guard.  However, it might be worth it in the long run.  Remember, Bozeman is tight with Childress, Sampson, and Chandler and getting him might be the first domino to fall and, as a result, could help ensure that UCLA head coach Steve Lavin has another top ranked recruiting class a year from now.  Remember, Lavin already proved that he's one of the best recruiters in the nation when he landed the #1 ranked class in the nation during the 1997-98 season.

Saturday, September 4, 1999

We have now confirmed that 6'10 George Leach from Charlotte (Olympic) NC will have to sit out at least the first semester this year, as a partial qualifier, at Indiana University.  Speaking of possible partial qualifiers, the word on the street is that 6'9 Dermarr Johnson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME didn't make it and, as a result, won't be eligible at Cincinnati. We've also heard that Johnson could end up at UNLV, along with 6'6 Caron Butler, with their former prep school coach Max Good.  However, our sources tell us that this is not correct.  As a matter of fact, we have a hunch that he may be declared eligible officially to play of the Bearcats this season sometime this week.  Speaking of Cincinnati, people would be all over them, if they tried to do what Duke freshman Jason Williams has been doing recently.  We're talking about his numerous phone calls to 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, who is in the midst major recruiting between Duke and Kentucky.  It would different if they'd both played together on the same high school or AAU team or even got to be good friends at a major camp.  However, we're still trying to figure out how they know each other.  Duhon has always played strictly at adidas events and Williams is a NIKE guy.  As a matter of fact, the only time we can ever remember them playing in the same event was at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC on Memorial Day weekend a year and a half ago.  No harm no foul, but their does appear to be a double standard.

The speculation in DC is that long time legendary Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD head coach Morgan Wootten , who is the winningest high school coach of all time, will only coach one more season.  But sources tell us that he's given his word he'll be there through the 2000-2001 season, which makes sense, because his junior class is especially strong with 6'1 Jr Billy Edelin and 6'9 Jr Jordan Collins.  Temple now appears to be the leader over Miami-FL for 6'4 David Hawkins from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, who ranks #67 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, we're not ready to etch it in stone just yet for Hawkins, because Boston College, Tulane, James Madison, George Washington, and New Mexico all appear to still have a shot.  Holy Cross and New Hampshire are the top two for 6'2 Donnell Young from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC.  Former Laurel (St. Vincent Pallotti) MD head coach Mike Glick has gotten the head coaching job at Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD.   Former Howard University and Washington (Dunbar) DC head coach Mike McLeese has been named the head coach and athletic diretor at the University of District of Columbia.

We reported a week ago that Providence had landed 6'10 Marcus Douthit from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, but now it appears that he's opened his recruiting back up and, as a result, Syracuse is making a strong push. One of the biggest sleepers in the nation is 6'7 Brandon Robinson from Huntsville (Buckhorn) AL.  He's not there yet, but he has the same kind of athleticism, potential, and upside, as the late Derek Smith had 22 years ago when former University of Louisville assistant coach Bill Olsen stole him out of the sticks of Georgia.  Robinson will be on Auburn's campus this weekend, but Kansas and Tulane are also showing interest.  We now projecting that 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, who ranks #7 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is a done deal for Indiana.

We're now believe that St. John's may be the sleeper for 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who ranks #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP. As a matter of fact, Cook may wait until the spring to sign, so he can see if St. John's loses their outstanding point guard 6'1 Erick Barkley early to the NBA.  Further evidence of this fact is that the Tar Heels are showing serious interest in  6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, who ranks #42 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'1 Brian Morrison from Kirkland (Lake Washington) WA, who ranks #26 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  While both Boone and Morrison would be nice additions to the Tar Heels program, they had better be careful. Neither is good enough to scare off Cook and, their is still a fairly good chance that Cook will eventually pick North Carolina.  And if he does, you have to believe they'd take him, even if they have already signed another guard in this recruiting class.  Cook is that good!

DePaul could be on the verge of another great recruiting year, especially if they get 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, and/or 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL.  Currenlty the Blue Demons appear to be the leader both Sawyer and Brown, but Cummings appears to like Ohio State best and Miles is a great big question mark, because he is 1) totally open, 2) a possible non-qualifier, and 3) a possible hardship candidate (ready or not) for the NBA draft right out of high school.  Right now DePaul has four scholarships to give, but they could have five, if and when Quentin Richardson opts to go hardship to the NBA next spring.  In a best case scenerio, head coach Pat Kennedy would like to take Sawyer, Brown, Cummings, and a good role player, like 6'6 Erik Daniels from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH or 6'5 Odartey Blankston from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL, in the fall.  Then in the spring, they would take Miles, if Richardson opts for the pros.  Obviously, few head coaches recruit harder than Kennedy and assistant coach Tracy Dildy has all the connections to get it done in Chicago, IL, but the sleeper on the staff is Larry Harrison.  As a matter of fact, Harrison might be the only assistant coach in the nation who was the recruiting coordinator at two different schools (the Class of '93 at Cincinnati was ranked #1 by the HOOP SCOOP and the Class of '99 at DePaul was ranked #2 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in a numerical tie with UCLA, which was ranked #1, because they signed one less player) with a top ranked recruiting class.

Friday, September 3, 1999

University of Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried must have been heart broken when he got the job and couldn't make up enough ground to get 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL, who was ranked as one of the top five players in the nation and committed to the University of Kentucky a year ago.  Hopefully it won't happen again with 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, who many think will go straight out of high school to the NBA.  But if he does go, the Crimson Tide will lose perhaps the most talented player they've signed (assuming he signs a national letter-of-intent in November) in the history of the school.  That would be bad enough, but today Gottfried probably feels even worse than when he lost Stone.  Write it down!  Remember where you heard it first!  That's right!  6'9 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL, who ranks as the #10 senior, as well as the best center in the class nationally, is reneging on Alabama and will verbally commit to Mississippi State.  This may come as a surprise to many, but not to us, because Austin did not attend the press conference when Wallace and Austin's AAU coach made the verbal commitment to Alabama in early August.  And since then we've continuously heard rumors that Austin's commitment wasn't that solid and that there was a good chance that he'd change his mind.

Only a couple of programs - Florida and DePaul - in college basketball have recruited better over the last several years than Mississippi State and with 6'9 Mario Austin from York (Sumper County) AL now in the fold, one of the last pieces to head coach Rick Stansbury's puzzle is 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  We don't see Rice, who also has Kentucky, Arkansas, Duke, and Florida State, making a commitment anytime soon, but when it's all said and done, we'd be surprised if he goes anywhere but Mississippi State.  Remember, when it doubt, always bet on the local school and you'll be right 80% of the time.  However, this one isn't in doubt, because Stansbury still recruits like he's an assistant and Mississippi State has an excellent computer engineering school, which is what Rice wants to major in college.  Remember, Rice is a heck of a student, a great kid, and a likely NBA player someday, all of which makes him a top priority for any school that has a chance to sign him.  As long as we're talking about Mississippi State, did you know that 6'7 Jamario Moon from Rockford (Coosa Central) AL, who signed with the Bulldogs a year ago, is now at Meridian (JC) MS?  Originially he planned to go to Compton (JC) CA, but he got homesick and was rumored to be heading to Southern Union (JC) AL.  However, that never materialized.

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman not only confirms that 6'5 Lou Wright has transferred to Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, but tells us that Wright is best player in Memphis in what is an average-at-best senior class.  Right now Wright appears to be wide open, but Memphis, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi, Alabama, and Mississippi State are showing the most interest.  Rothman also has the scoop on where all the other top players in Memphis might be leaning, like 6'3 Scooter McFadgon from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, 6'6 Billy Richmond from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 6'3 Alan Williams from Memphis (Briarcrest) TN, 6'2 Justin Smith from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, and 6'6 Omari Faulkner from Memphis (Hamilton) TN.  McFadgon has Memphis ahead of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgetown.  Richmond likes Vanderbilt, Memphis, South Carolina, and Xavier.  Kansas State, Baylor, Princeton, and Lehigh are eyeing the sharpshooting Williams.  Georgetown, Arkansas State, and Sooth Carolina are involved with Smith.  Faulkner has Georgetown leading Texas Christian, St. Joseph's, and Xavier.  If that weren't enough, Rothman also tells us that the University of Memphis' best player and leading scorer a year ago - 6'4 Jimmy Hunter, who recently became academically ineligible - has transferred to Life University, which is a NAIA school in Marietta, GA.

 We mentioned last night that Hofstra was one of the schools making a strong push for 6'8 Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, but he's not the only player head coach Jay Wright, who is one of the hot young coaches in the business,  is recruiting.  The Flying Dutchmen are also battling Massachuetts, South Carolina, and Boston College for 6'1 Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY.  They're among the favorites, along with Massachusetts, Rutgers, St. Bonaventure, and UNC-Greensboro, for 6'1 Mike Sherrod from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY.  Hofstra, Providence, Rutgers, Boston College, Siena, and Cleveland State are all involved with 6'7 Diamien Fray from Huntington Station (Walt Whitman) NY. Jamal Flores from Manhasset (St.Mary's) NY likes Hofstra, Clemson, Nebraska, and Providence.

Thursday, September 2, 1999

A lot of people have forgotten about 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, because he was out all spring and summer with a broken leg.  However, we haven't, as we have him ranked #28 nationally.  Neither have Brigham Young, which will make an in-home visit on September 11th; Utah, which goes into the home on September 13th; and Stanford, which has an in-home visit scheduled for September 14th.  They're the final three for Meads, but our guess is that he will sign with Utah.  However, don't right it down just yet, because he plans to make official visits to all three schools and a great visit to BYU or Stanford might be even to tip the thing in their direction.  Another player we haven't talked about much recently is 6'7 Johnny Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, who ranks #59 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and reminds us of a poor man's Donnell Harvey, because he plays so hard and he's undersized, which means he doesn't always get the credit he deserves.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson reports that Gilbert has official on-campus visits scheduled to Oklahoma on September 10th-11th, Tulsa on October 2nd-3rd, Ohio State on October 15th-16th, and Rutgers on October 22nd-23rd.  Those four schools, plus Minnesota and Marquette will make in-home visits, so lets call that his final six.  Our Kentucky editor Larry Kihnley tells us that 6'9 Tom Frericks from Bowling (Greenwood) KY has always wanted to go to Notre Dame, because it runs in the family - both his father and grandfather player football for the Irish.  However, Notre Dame isn't interested. Neither is his second choice, Western Kentucky, because they signed a number of front court players a year ago and, as a result, don't need anybody else at his position.  Right now Tulsa is the only school that has offered, but Xavier and Miami-FL are also showing interest. 

Rumor has it that Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez may opt to become the school's football coach, because then he'll have 25  scholarships a year to offer, instead of the three or four that he's limited to in an average recruiting year in basketball.  Actually we're only kidding, but right now it looks like he could use all the scholarships he can get. If you recall, Gonzalez wasted no time last spring when he landed 5'11 Michael Johnson from McCook (JC) NE, 6'5 Bruce Seals from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'4 Aeneas Middleton from Worcester (Academy) MA, and 6'6 Jared Johnson from  Cheshire (Academy) CT in less than two months on the job.  He struck gold again in late July when 6'5 David Holmes from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and last week he got 5'11 Shawn Mark from Brooklyn (Tilden) NY.  Gonzalez has been living with 6'5 Mark Curry from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ for some time, he's involved with a terrific African who very few know about, and now he's making a late push for 6'8 Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who ranks #91 nationally and has been recruited by a lot of big time schools, including St. John's, Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State, Villanova, Rutgers.  Also making a serious push for Williams are several of the other mid-level schools, like Hofstra, Siena, and Iona, that tend to recruit and sign players who are better than their level.

Patrick Jira, Editor & Publisher of the Recruiting Beat, recently lost one of this top people, Matt Borrello, who was hired away by Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, but Jira still has one of the best and most informative recruiting web sites on the internet.  Jira also is one of the hardest working people in business.  So naturally we talk to him on a regular basis.  Tonight he tells us that North Carolina has offered 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, who ranks #42 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, as it stands now Boone isn't ready to take the Tar Heels up on their offer, because he's still open, as a number of schools, like Kentucky, Duke, Miami-FL, Michigan State, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Notre Dame, are all still on his list.  Jira also tells us that Connecticut is now the leader over St. John's, Syracuse, and several others for 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY.  Speaking of Brown, we're hearing Kentucky mentioned more prominently than ever.  Besides the usual cast of characters, like Boone, Brown, 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC, 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, Kentucky also is being mentioned with 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'7 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, and 6'10 Mike Southall from West Salem (West Salem) WI.

Connecticut got a commitment from 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who is ranked as the #1 prep school player in the nation and was the #2 ranked player at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, in early August.  However, this one doesn't appear to be as done as we originally thought.  Did you know that Butler was in Las Vegas, NV last weekend visiting his former prep school coach Max Good and he's told a number of people that it's still possible that he could change his mind? Any time something like that (a player reneging) happens, it's tough on the program where he originally committed, because it can change their entire recruiting focus.  If you don't believe it, just ask the coaches at the University of Toledo, who thought they had 6'7 Romeo Augustine from Youngstown (Rayen) OH last spring.  However, Augustine committed to several different school and then changed his mind, before finally ending up at Providence.  But sometimes these things turn out for the best.  If Toledo had gotten Augustine, they probably wouldn't have gotten Milo Kirsh, who is transferring from Bradley after being named to the all-freshman team in the Missouri Valley Conference last season.  Kirch will have to sit this season, but ultimately he's a much better player and already more proven at the college level.

Wednesday, September 1, 1999

Yesterday we found out that the University of Kentucky is out with 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, who ranks #7 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and today Arizona is right behind them.  As a result, it now looks like a two horse race between Indiana and Duke, although schools like Florida State, Southern Cal, Notre Dame, and Iowa are also still on Jeffries list.  We're already reported that 6'9 Kei Madison from New Hampton (Prep) NH didn't make it academically and has enrolled at Western Iowa (JC) IA.  However, we haven't reported that 6'11George Leach from Charlotte (Olympic) NC hasn't made it either and, as a result, won't be eligible to play this season.  Right now this is unconfirmed, but the word is that Indiana University head coach Bob Knight hit the ceiling when he recently found about it.  We're also hearing that the University of Louisville has an in-home visit scheduled with 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, which is a major surprise, because the Cardinals never even got a mention whenever we got a list from him during the last year.  And our guess is that they're wasting their time, because it appears to be a two horse race between St. John's and Virginia.

We reported last week that 6'4 Jonathan Howard from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ was close to making a commitment to Arizona State, but right now he's still taking official visits.  He was at Notre Dame last weekend, but the Irish recently got a commitment from 6'4 Chris Markwood from South Portland (H.S.) ME.  So we question whether Notre Dame will sign another player at the 2-guard position.  Howard also is supposed to visit California next weekend and immediately after that he'll be at Arizona State, which is when we think he will make it official for the Sun Devils.  We also think Arizona State will get 6'5 Jamal Scott from Phoenix (Shadow Mountain) AZ, who is a big-time athlete and would be a legitimate top 50 player nationally, if he improves his outside shooting enough to complement his ability to slash to the basket.  The final five for 6'6 Cedric Knight from Louisville (Ballard) KY, who is ranked as the #1 senior in the state by Rick Bolus of High Potential Basketball Recruiting Service, are Villanova, Massachusetts, Clemson, Alabama, and Texas.  Pittsburgh has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'2 Julius Page from Buffalo (Turner-Carroll) NY and the University of Maine has gotten a commitment from 6'4 Ricky White from Mt. Ararat (H.S.) ME and a transfer in 6'6 Clayton Brown, who is leaving James Madison.

We didn't make it to Five-Star's Honesdale II session, but as usual, it was loaded!  Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who ranks as the #1 senior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, was named the Outstanding Player for the week.  Also no surprise, the award for Best Playmaker went to 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and Mr. Station 13, which is the award for the player who does the best at Five-Star's optional Station 13, went to 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY.  The Most Promising Prospect, which is the award that goes to the best underclassmen in camp, went to 6'1 Jr Ben Gordon from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY.  The Best Rebounder was 6'8 J.C. Mathis from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, the Mr. Hustle Award went to 6'5 Jr John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, and the winner of the Mr. Stations award was 6'7 Scott Hazelton from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA.

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