The Hoop Scoop

Covering Grassroots Basketball Since 1983

A national recruiting web site and scouting service providing analysis, rankings, and coverage of grassroots basketball since 1983

No 1 vs No 3: Montverde Academy Impressive

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The nation’s top-ranked team in the Student Sports FAB 50, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), exercised some demons with a victory over No. 3 White Station (Memphis) in the title game of the Pass Pro Shops TOC. For Montverde Academy, the win was gratifying but there is still some unfinished business on this road trip.

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Quick Shots: Germantown Goes Down

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Nation’s longest winning streak comes to an end Tuesday night as Student Sports FAB 50 No. 9 Germantown (Germantown, Wis.) loses to Brookfield Central (Brookfield, Wis.). Coach from prominent Northern California program suspended for a month by his school district and Javaris Crittenton’s sad spiral from high school star to murder suspect.

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New FAB 50 National Rankings

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Over the past decade, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday has turned into a huge ratings bonanza as many of the nation’s top teams play in showcase games over the three-day weekend. Most of the attention is focused on the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass. For some teams, such as No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) and No. 10 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), there is business to attend to beforehand at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo. Next week’s rankings won’t be published until Tuesday after all the results from MLK Monday are accounted for.

By Ronnie Flores & Mark Tennis
Contributing: Doug Huff

The Pangos Dream Classic began in 1995 as a vehicle to showcase Southern California’s top basketball teams and as a tribute to the late Dr.

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MLB Scholarship Plan In Hoops?

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Back in the 1960s, Major League Baseball developed the Professional Baseball Scholarship Plan. The goal of “The Plan” was to help players entering professional baseball to further their education, since many players had yet to start college or complete it. That’s still the way it is today.

According to an article in the New York Times in 2009, from 1962 to 1999, a total of 69.2 percent of baseball players returned to the classroom under the Plan, said Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball.

Perhaps the important factor in the Plan is that the player must negotiate this into his first professional minor league contract.

That contract is typically divided up into three parts: The signing bonus, the Professional Baseball Scholarship Plan (PBSP) and the Incentive Bonus (optional).

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POY Tracker: Seniors Stand Strong

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The top players in the class of 2014 take center stage in the national player of the year race as the underclass players lose traction. Emmanuel Mudiay and Cliff Alexander remain the front-runners, but Jahlil Okafor and Stanley Johnson garner the most first-place votes.

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Tournament Headed To The Garden

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The National High School Invitational (NHSI), a end-of-season tournament that has featured some of the nation’s best teams over the past five years, will be moving from Maryland to New York City with a new title sponsor. The event’s championship game will take place at Iconic Madison Square Garden on April 5.

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“Lenny Cooke” Drives Points Home

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“Lenny Cooke” is a documentary about the quick rise, and dramatic downward spiral, of an early 2000’s high school basketball standout from Brooklyn with aspirations of being a first round selection in the 2002 NBA Draft. A poor work ethic, raw and inexperienced game, media and scout-driven over-hype, and a series of shaky off-the-court decisions led to Cooke going undrafted. The documentary captures Cooke’s rise, the seeds of his downfall and where he’s at in life today. “Lenny Cooke” is recommended viewing for young players with NBA dreams, parents who may not know the inner-working of the grassroots basketball machine, or anyone with a general interest in basketball or the education of America’s youth.

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