Hot Recruiting Information

One of the many things that separates the HOOP SCOOP from all of the rest is the fact that we start tracking the top players in the nation at a very early age.   And this is really important, because it gives us a much earlier starting point and a lot more perspective when it comes time to getting it right with regard to putting all of the pieces together and which players I end up voting for on the McDonald’s All-American Team and how I rank the top players nationally in the spring of their senior year, which is the time when we take great pride in getting it right.   If you will recall, we currently have 6’8 Cliff Alexander from Chicago (Curie) IL and 6’7 Stanley Johnson from   Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA running neck-and-neck for top player honors in the Class of 2014, we were one of the only ones to have 6’8 Jabari Parker from Chicago (Simeon) IL ranked #1 in the class over 6’8 Andrew Wiggins from Huntington (Prep) WV a year ago, we had 6’5 Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV ranked as the #1 player in his class two years ago, we had 6’8 Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) ) and 6’10 Anthony Davis from Chicago (Perspectives Charter) IL ranked #1 and #2 in their class three years ago, we might have been the only one to rank 6’8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH over 6’8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA four years ago, we had 6’2 Avery Bradley from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV ranked as the #1 player his class five years ago, we did likewise with 6’2 Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6’9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR six and seven year ago, we had 7’0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6’10 Kevin   Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD ranked #1 and #2 in their class eight years ago, we had 6’7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6’11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southeast Atlanta Christian) GA, and 6’7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH ranked #1 in their classes nine year ago, 10 years ago, and 11 years ago, we had 6’7 Carmelo   Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA ranked #1 in his class over 6’9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL 12 years ago,

However, unlike our most recent Ranking of the Top 8th Graders, which was published a couple of weeks ago exclusively in the View Subscriber Section, I will be the first to admit that there is a lot more margin for error with our Ranking of the Top 125 Players Nationally in the Class of 2019.   Instead, it’s more of a case where we’re trying to put all of the pieces together, make accurate comparisons, and get insight from people that we trust about players that I have not yet seen play in person.   A good example is the race for the #1 spot in the Class of 2019 among 6’8 7th Grader Balsa Kopriva from West Palm Beach, FL, 6’6 7th Chandler Lawson from Memphis, TN, and 6’3 7th Grader Wendell Moore from Concord, NC.   Moore is an aggressive combo forward who is physically and athletically mature beyond his age and Lawson is so naturally talented that he’s being touted as the best player in his family, which is saying a lot when one members that his two older brothers- 6’7 Jr D.J. Lawson from Memphis (Hamilton) TN and 6’8 Soph Dedric Lawson from Memphis (Hamilton) TN – are both ranked among the top 20 players nationally in their respective classes.   However, we gave the nod to Kopriva after several people told us that he was the best player last summer at the 6th Grade AAU Nationals and confirmed that he is amazingly skilled for somebody so big and so young.     And, to reinforce this point even further, Brian Merritt, who is John Lucas’ right hand man and was in attendance at the 6th Grade AAU Nationals, tells us that Kopriva had a game where he got a triple-double, which included points, rebounds, and blocks.     As for 5’9 7th Grader Tyger Campbell from Cedar Rapids, IA, he checks in at #4 on our list, he totally dominated his age group when we saw him last spring at the John Lucas Resources Future of the Game-West Camp in Las Vegas, NV, and he also was one of the better players when he was playing up week later at the John Lucas Resources International Middle School Combine in Houston, TX.   Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that everybody that follows this age group in and around the Big Apple thinks 6’3 7th Grader Scottie Lewis from Old Bridge, NJ will be the next great one to come out of “The City.”  

We also get similar reports from those in the Washington, DC area about 6’1 7th Grader Justin Moore from Accokeek, MD being a big athletic prolific scoring 2-guard with an incredible amount of upside and potential and 5’11 Amani Harris from Inglewood, CA, who is an excellent defender, has some toughness in his game, and uses his speed and quickness to get out and go in transition, being the hottest young commodity on the West Coast.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson talked to several people, including Rob Taylor,  who runs the Buckeye Prep Report, about 5’11 7th Grader Jeremiah Francis from Columbus, OH and 6’4 7th Grader Jordan Mitchell from Blacklick, OH.   And this race is a tough call, as the former has the edge right now, but the latter has more upside and potential.   We also really like 6’2 7th Grade Dexter Shouse from Indianapolis, IN, because this strong physical athletic guard is equally effective either spot, he is advanced well beyond is age, and he has a great pedigree, and 5’11 7th Grader Michael Green from Myrtle Beach, SC, because this multi-dimensional athletic white kid plays with a swagger, impressed us with his outside shooting, and was dominant when we saw him last fall at the North Carolina Junior Phenom Camp in Winston-Salem, NC.   We also have to give Brian Merritt credit for tipping us off about 6’5 7th Grader Anwan Demiere from Las Vegas, NV, who is a guy that nobody has ever written about and can not be found on any list.   Merritt calls him “Shaq” and tells us that the sky is the limit for this big man who is already a force to be reckoned with around the basket.