Hoops Mongrel

Unheralded No More, Up and Coming Hoops Talent

2010-06-02T18:58:00.008-04:00

The Good Mongrel awakens from a too long slumber in time to report on some kids who have games bigger than their reps... for now. Thanks for the many emails on these guys and the others I haven't gotten to yet.

AJ Schmidt: This one was an easy place to start. Last summer he was a one man wrecking crew for Team Southern Indiana. AJ doesn't blow you away with his athleticism or size but he's the guy who has the ball in his hands when its time for a bucket. I haven't had the pleasure of watching him this summer but he's playing for Spiece Select 2012 if you're interested. He averaged about 17 ppg and 2 assists per game for Providence (IN) last year. AJ is hardly a secret as he's being recruited by Wright State, Indiana State, IPFW, and others. He is an outstanding student and will be lacing them up for the Indiana University Elite Camp as well as the Top 100 camp in Indiana. I've not seen AJ for several months, but the thing I'd like to see from him going forward is developing of some more point guard skills because at 6'1 he'll have more opportunity at the next level as a combo guard or point instead of a shooting guard. Photo above is AJ from the outstanding Wright State recruiting site http://www.wrightstate.proboards.com/.

Akeem Springs: Chicago area players get a lot of attention from the outstanding media outlets which have been keeping an eye on area talent since long before most of the national analysts were in college let alone covering college recruiting. But for some reason the national guys are a little slow to peek under the sheets sometimes. One kid the national guys will eventually love is 2012 star in the making Akeem Springs. Springs is a shooting guard with a nice handle for Waukegan. Springs has an offer from Indiana State and is being given some high major attention from Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin. He has a very well rounded game, plays both sides of the ball, and can shoot. His biggest challenge will be living up to the name. When your name is Springs, people are going to expect a high wire act! His cousin Mike Springs was one of the top point guards in Illinois the last couple of years for Waukegan, and now that Jerome Richmond has moved on expect big things from Akeem.

Teiron Patterson: North Central star in the making Ronnie Johnson might be leading the little brother brigade for now, but watch out for 2013's Teiron Patterson. Teiron is about 6'1 with outstanding athleticism, a handle, and some burst. He averaged 20 ppg in eighth grade but split his freshman year for Broad Ripple on the freshman team, some JV, and some varsity on a loaded squad dominated by his superstar brother Ron and the multi-positional wonder Steven Jamison.

Remy Abell: Here's one of those kids we want to sneak in a last minute complaint about him being underrated because the hubub is really building on him. He's a 6'4 wing for Louisville Eastern. Abell plays alongside some really good players in Lionell Gaines and Armon Marks so he doesn't always put up big numbers. However, he does put up big numbers often enough and this AAU season has seen his stock skyrocket. The Mongrel has written about his talent and athleticism before. He's a high major athlete with good skills. And at times he plays like a high major prospect. That's why he has the likes of Xavier and Indiana recruiting him, but he probably needs to play the game a bit more confidently to attract more high major attention. Remy already has offers from Akron, Wright State, and IUPUI. Abel has the game and the athleticism to look good leading a school like Xavier to yet another Sweet 16 in a few years, it'll be fun to see if he waits for those offers or steps in and stars for one of the outstanding schools who has already offered this rising 2011 prospect. Remy looks the part, well as much as anyone who sports pink shoelaces can look the part.

Matt Heber: File this one under one to watch. He's a home-schooled kid who hasn't had a lot of exposure but the Mongrel has his ear to the ground and Heber is one to watch. He's in the Laffayette area and playing for Laffayette Hoops. Heber is a 6'4 forward who we hope to be hearing more from soon.

Hoops Season Wrapping Up, Tournaments and Sectionals Draw Near

2010-02-20T00:06:00.010-05:00

The dog ate the Good Mongrel's homework for a few months, but here's some of what is goin' on with some players we've been watching and a few who have caught our attention.

Some links to Hoosier hoop stars:

Hamilton Southeastern's Gary Harris and Pike's Marquis Teague have been having big seasons. Here's a blurb from the Indy Star that mentions a tangle between the two back court standouts as well as Warren Central's 6'6 Devin Davis from the class of 2013. Keep your eyes on this one, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, Butler, Southern Illinois and others already are. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2010/02/thursday-notes-1.html

Here's another feature on the sensational Harris who has offers from Illinois, Xavier, and IUPUI already. http://www.indystar.com/article/20100219/SPORTS0203/2190323/1361/SPORTS0615/Hamilton-SE-s-Harris-develops?GID=blZCLvwi/nen5t54w+paRPvco/+sPlwVY2B32tA4zwU%3D

And a third link from the Indy Star which has done an outstanding job covering recruiting the last six months or so. Ohio State recruit and Ft Wayne senior Deshawn Thomas has arguably been the best player in Indiana since the end of his freshman year when Eric Gordon graduated. He has a chance to break Damon Bailey's state scoring record. He has been a big name so long that I think some national guys have taken him for granted. http://www.indystar.com/article/20100113/SPORTS0615/1130352/1361/SPORTS0615/FW-Luers-Thomas-has-chance-to-pass-Bailey-for-scoring-record

Northern Indiana powers Merrillville and Valparaiso collided a few days ago with Merrillville avenging an earlier season loss to Valpo behind a big game from Jeremiah Jones. http://nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/indiana/article_133e6f91-3a2e-563d-96cc-698f55759a45.html

Illinois hoops has been heating up of late as well. Chicago city championship goes to UL recruit and 2011 star Wayne Blackshear who has had an enormous year to date. Blackshear has had several 40+ point games and hit the game winner for his Morgan Park club with 13 seconds left to beat Foreman 61-60 (photo above is from following Sun-Times YS article). http://yourseason.suntimes.com/2059786,021910-morgan-park-marshall-boys-basketball.article

The suburban championship fell to 2010 stars Duje Dukan and Glenbrook North star Alex Dragecevich. Glenbrook defeated Deerfield in this battle between smooth shooting big wings. http://yourseason.suntimes.com/boys_basketball/2059765,021910-glenbrook-north-deerfield-boys.article

Here's a recent Chicagohoops.com profile of 2011 6'8 forward Josh Piper which the Good Mongrel has raved about a time or two in the past. Yale and Ball State are two of the schools in the running for the power forward with the nice mid range jumper. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/joshpiper.html

Another fine update from Chicagohoops has Orr sophomore Jacob Williams considering Xavier, Butler, and Illinois among others. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/jacobwilliams2.html

The Bluegrass State has seen an upsurge in talent for the next couple of years and many (including most of my email friends and comments on this blog) expected defending state champion Ricardo Johnson and Scott County star Ge'lawn Guyn to duel for Mr Basketball, but the Good Mongrel warned that the honor could ultimately fall to Trinity's Josh Sewell and indeed he has had the biggest season of the trio. However, don't sleep on Shelby County and UL walk-on Elisha Justice who has had an enormous season to date. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100209/SPORTS11/2090365/1078/SPORTS11/Elisha+Justice+preparing+to+be+a+Cardinal
Brackets are set for the state tournament in the Buckeye State. http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/boysbasketball/

Don't forget to check out this article on a great win by Benedictine (Cameron Wright and Derek Jackson) over St Vincent St Mary's (Jakar Sampson). http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/-9120140584922745048/third-quarter-is-difference-as-benedictine-boys-basketball-team-defeats-st-vincent-st-mary/

Devin Oliver continues to come up big for Kalamazoo Central as this article on their victory over Muskegon Heights indicates. http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/-9120141584926745044/devin-olivers-renewed-intensity-gives-kalamazoo-central-boost-in-boys-basketball-win-over-muskegon-heights/

Season Underway!

2009-11-30T00:02:00.007-05:00

The Good Mongrel's belly is full, my blood vessels are pumping pure turkey gravy and all is right in the universe with hoops popping up all around us and December tournaments coming up soon! Lets take a quick look around, I'll try to throw together a bunch of links to games going on all around us and give some quick notes when I get to see some action myself. Hopefully I can do a couple of updates a week with more during holiday tournament season.

In Indiana the season kicked off with a bang. 4A #1 and defending state champion Bloomington South hosted #2 New Albany whose only loss last year was to the Panthers. Dee Davis (seen in this HT photo) and Matt Carlino had big games as the Panthers held on in the fourth quarter against a New Albany come back attempt. The link provided is to Hugh Kellenberger's excellent local sports blog "Quickhits" which has links to the Bloomington South/New Albany game, Bloomington North's (Julian Boatner etc) victory against Bedford North Lawrence (Alex Pritchet and company), 3A power Edgewood's (Alex Narey 23 pts 10 boards, Levi Garner) victory against South Putnam, and others including North Knox, Eastern Greene, White River Valley, and Brown County. http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/quickhits/?p=3392#more-3392

Fishers defeated an excellent Hamilton Southeastern squad. Superstar Hamilton Southeastern guard Gary Harris was extremely impressive in the low scoring game coming up with 13 points and at least five steals. He was 1 of 7 from the line and his outside shot did was not falling and he was a bit wild with the ball at times. Hamilton Southeastern had a couple of solid 6'5 forwards who showed good range as well as a more physical inside presence in 6'6 power forward Brian Gregory. Fishers has an outstanding squad with several very quick undersized guards to go with a heady point guard and a few intriguing college prospects at forward. The brightest future might be 6'9 sophomore forward John Alderman. He is still a work in progress but showed very good shot blocking instincts and solid footwork for a youngster. 6'7 European import whose name escaped me but might have been Illia (#23) is one to watch as well. He's a senior but showed really nice shooting form and solid Euro fundamentals. 6'5 wing forward (#22) Slaughter showed very impressive versatility and surprising athleticism but was in foul trouble. I'll have to catch him again as soon as possible as well as many of the guards for Fishers most notably #3 Stewart who looked great at point with a quick first step, he had at least 13 points.

Kegan Clark went for 21 for Jeffersonville as they rolled to a blowout over Evansville Bosse even without injured star Evan Maschmeyer. http://www.newsandtribune.com/sports/local_story_332235537.html

Joe Hendrickson's Hoopsreport blog in the Sun-Times had the goods on Chicago area hoops during Thanksgiving break. The St Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament was home to some great hoops including a classic between East Arora and Hales Franciscan who won 98-97 in an overtime thriller with 26 ties and lead changes. Former USC commit Ryan Boatright had a big game for East Arora while Hales Franciscan was led by Tennessee State commitment Patrick Miller. Miller was aided by 20+ point games from 6'3 Aaron Armstead (2011) and his brother 6'4 Aaric Armstead (2012). In another barn burner Iowa commitment and Mundelein star Ben Brust scored 50 head to head against Evanston's 5'11 Garret Jones who scored 51 making it the first time two players went for 50 against each other in ISA history. http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/2009/11/thanksgiving_leftovers.html

The big effort from Jones was well timed as he picked up offers from Loyola and UW Green Bay who were in the gym to see his heroics. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/jonesuwgb.html

Notre Dame signee and 2010 star Alex Dragecevich was named MVP of the Billy Schnurr tournament at Niles West. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/dragicevich5.html

Buckeye Prep Report came through with some great recaps from the All-Ohio Slam N Jam Hoop Preview with great reads on Sullinger, Aaron Thomas, Adolphus Washington and others. http://buckeyeprep.blogspot.com/

Here's a Fine Collection of Signing Day Links

2009-11-12T09:49:00.015-05:00

Purdue signed an underrated class in the opinion of the Good Mongrel. The highest I've seen them ranked is 14th by Maxxpreps but Terone Johnson and Travis Carrol are kids who can help a team early in their careers and Anthony Johnson and Donnie Hale both have what it takes to be good four year players in the Big Ten. This is the follow up to the 2007 class that Boiler fans have been waiting for.

Here's a link from the Louisville Courier-Journal which focuses mostly on Hale but also touches on some other Louisville area stars signing such as Curtis Washington, Ricardo Johnson, Sean Samsel, and Josh Sewell who checks in with the most mature quote of the day after acknowledging he had interest from bigger programs, “At the end of the day I feel like I made a great decision,” the 6-5 guard said. “I really feel comfortable with the staff and school and can grow on and off the court. Basketball will take care of itself. I'm not going to play in the NBA or anything, but I am going there for the business marketing program and let basketball take care of itself." I'm sure Sewell will be pleased with his basketball opportunities at Miami as well as his academic environment. The photo on the right is Sewell from a Louisville Courier-Journal shot. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091111/SPORTS11/911110428/1034/SPORTS06/New+Albany+s+Donnie+Hale+signs+with+Boilermakers

Indiana received an LOI from defensive specialist and Youtube Dunkmaster Victor Oladipo from Dematha, Maryland. Here are the obligatory quotes from the head coach on the signing. http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/iusp/?p=5476

Here are a couple of Chicagohoops links on some signing day news. Patrick Miller of Chicago Hales-Franciscan committed to Tennessee State. Miller played for Old Gold over the summer. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/patrickmillertsu.html On the flip side, signing day also comes with a few decommitments and Illinois Warriors star Fabyon Harris who plays for Chicago Hyde Park pulled his pledge from Northern Colorado.

Brad Brownell's Wright State program added an infusion of talent yesterday. Brownell said Kegan Clark (Jeffersonville, IN) is the most prepared to play but all the Wright State signees have a chance to play early with four graduating seniors to replace. Kory Stanton, AJ Pacher (Vandalia, OH Butler), and Colt Darling (Holt, Michigan) are the other immediate signees while Matt Vest will redshirt a year before playing. http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/wright-state-university-raiders/wright-state-recruits-will-ease-seniors-exit-397261.html

Brian Gregory has signed a huge class for the Dayton Flyers. Juwan Staten, Jesse Berry, Brandon Spearman, Ralph Hill, and Devin Oliver constitute one of the deepest classes I can remember for a mid-major program. http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/what-does-uds-gregory-have-to-say-about-his-5-newest-recruits-397215.html Here is another article on local star Juwan Staten. http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/staten-sticks-to-his-word-signs-with-ud-397214.html Berry is my favorite player of the group in terms of on-court ability, but he has a reputation for being a scorer who doesn't think a lot about the rest of the game. This article from his hometown newspaper shows how hard Berry has been working on his passing and his defense, he sounds like he's got his stuff together. http://www.jconline.com/article/20091112/SPORTS01/911120328/1038/Lafayette-Jeff-senior-Berry-joins-talented-Dayton-group

2010 star Kyle Vinales committed to Grand Valley State yesterday. Ginales is a good shooter from North Farmington who played point for the Detroit Fire last summer. http://blog.mlive.com/highschoolbasketball/2009/11/grand_valley_gets_in_on_the_ac.html

Kentucky signed outstanding athlete and scorer Stacey Poole from Jacksonville, Florida. He played this summer for the Jacksonville Lee Bulls and his father was an all time great for conference rival Florida. That has to be painful for Florida fans, sure right now every fan base pretends their school didn't really want the kids they didn't get and none more so than UK media outlets, but soon enough the face of UK basketball might be a little too familiar for them. Here's a link with a few quotes from Coach Calipari on Poole. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/11/calipari-on-poole.html

Former Louisville Manual star Jacob Jenkins has inked a letter of intent to Bellarmine. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/11/remember-jacob-jenkins.html Here's the new class for Bellarmine. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

Butler has landed a great recruiting class. Bloomington South's Eric Fromm is a solid 6'7 forward who is versatile enough to play away from the paint. Kyle Marshall is a nationally ranked forward from Penbrook Pines, Florida, and the big fish in the eyes of the Mongrel is Crishawn Hopkins from Indianapolis Manual. http://www.indystar.com/article/20091112/SPORTS0605/911120481/1004/SPORTS/Butler+s+2010+class
You don't have to be a superstar to get to play D1 basketball at a top notch institution. JR Reynolds of Chicago Whitney Young was one of several CPL kids who sign an LOI and he came off the bench for the state champs in high school. The link discusses the Rice commitment and also mentions some other CPL stars signing yesterday including some comments from his teammate Anthony Johnson. http://yourseason.suntimes.com/boys_basketball/1878181,111109-local-signing-day.article

Transfers have become so common for D1 basketball players that more and more teams now consider signing more players than they have spots for. The Akron Zips took a commitment from Dakotah Euton last week and received LOI's for all three of their signees so they will need to see a place open, but many coaches already know where the spot will come from or are otherwise willing to risk overcommitting because they see so many transfers. The Zips also signed Michael Green from Dublin Coffman High and 6-7 forward Josh Egner from Massillon Jackson.
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2009/11/post_6.html

The same link also shows four signees for Coach Gino Ford's Kent State program. 6'8 Mark Henninger from Massillon Jackson, 6'4 Eric Gaines from Chicago Hillcrest, 6'6 Kenny Knight from Cincinnati Winton Woods and 6'4 juco guard Carlton Guyton form a very solid group. Gaines and Knight are two very dynamic wings who impressed the Mongrel in July, the future looks very bright for Kent State and they have one more open ride to fill in the spring if they choose.

Ernie Zeigler's Central Michigan program should have no problems developing chemistry. They brought in a recruiting class with two teammates from the same AAU program and a third expected to sign next year. Nate VanArendonk and Colin Voss signed yesterday, and junior Jordan Myrick is expected to sign next year. http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/-1359932882883707984/three-west-michigan-basketball-players-sign-with-central-michigan-fourth-on-way/

Murray State has inked Reynoldsburg HS (OH) standout Kevin Gray. Congrats to Kevin, his family, and the Racers! http://www.buckeyeprep.blogspot.com/

Roy Marble Jr (MI) faxed in his LOI to Iowa. http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/918418.html

Ben Brust (IL) has faxed in his LOI to Iowa as well per Telep's free signing day blog (linked above with Marble), all four of Iowa's outstanding commitments have signed.

Lots of recruiting info on eve of signing day.

2009-11-10T22:58:00.005-05:00

I'll try to link some things from twitter searches and post on signing day as I'll be keeping a close eye on updates. I'll also try to find some free links tomorrow to cover updates. Meanwhile, here are a few commitments and hubub to keep you warm.

* Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier Journal had an outstanding recruiting chat Tuesday night. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

* Duje Dukan has committed to Wisconsin. He's an outstanding shooter with good size at 6'8, he went to the right place Bo loves big forwards who can shoot the ball. Photo at the right is from the Deerfield Pioneer, found it online at pioneerlocal.com. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page24.html

* Cameron Harvey (Mongreltopia 2012 #34) from St Joseph's (Illinois) has committed to the Wyoming Cowboys and plans on majoring in engineering. He plays summer for Indiana Elite. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page7.html

* SIU-Edwardsville just landed 6'9 Alex Brown from Herrin HS (Illinois) who played summer for the Illinois Bears. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/alexbrownsiue.html

* Eastern Illinois just landed a commitment from Issac Smith from Leo (Chicago). Smith is a 6'2 shooting guard who played this summer with Duje Dukan for Chicago Elite. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/isaacsmith.html

* Highmajorscoop.com put out a spreadsheet with the combine results on the kids at their top 100 camp. It is nice to see real measurements, when I read recruiting articles everyone had a 40 inch vertical and you learn after a while to just take an inch off every reported height and figure most of the time you should take two. Now we know Sullinger is 6'8.5 and 264 pounds with a solid vertical leap for such a big strong kid. Kaufman is 6'2 with a 34 inch vertical. http://highmajorscoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/top-100-combine-results_xlsx.pdf

* Here's a list of the kids who are going D1 in basketball from Ohio in the 2010 class. Ohio might have the strongest crop of talent in the country in the 2010 class. http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009/11/11/who-is-headed-where-2009-2010-basketball-recruiting

* Mark Miller's Courtside blog has a similar update on the 2010 D1 kids from Wisconsin. Among the 14 kids mentioned are Flavien Davis who is going to Loyola (Chicago) and Steve McWhorter who is committed to Indiana State. http://www.wissports.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/blog.aspx?f=123

* Cory Stanton from Springfield, Tennessee has joined Coach Brad Brownell's 2010 recruiting class at Wright State. Cole Darling, AJ Pacher, Kegan Clark, and Mark Vest are the other members of the class. http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/wrightstatesports/entries/2009/11/08/another_recruit_for_the_raider.html

2012 Mongreltopia Class Top 50!

2009-11-06T07:49:00.021-05:00

Without further delay here is the 2012 Mongreltopia Top 50! I'll try to do an updated top 50 list after the May evaluation period and again right before high school season gets started. Most of these guys are pretty close to where I'd have put them, but I've adjusted some guys up from reader persuasion and a few of them I'm going totally off other reports. Potential is a bigger part of the picture and its hard to predict who will be good in a few years, and I've seen less of most of these kids than I would if I were trying to do a list without help from the readers and tons of research! Let me know what you think, I'll move kids up and down the list if you make a good argument! Remember, this list is Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio only!

1. Emmanual Ochenje is a 6'9 forward/center prospect from Brehm Prep, IL. This inside force is already muscular, long, and moves very well. He's still a little raw but gets it done on both sides of the ball even at this stage of his development. He has an offer from Illinois. Its too tempting to go out on a limb a little for this one, but the kid is so big and should be excellent in two years. As kids get older, you give them less benefit of the doubt with big kids. National Rankings: ESPN #52, Sportspress TV #78, State Rankings Chicagohoops #1,

2. Devontes Smith-Rivera is a 6'3 combo guard from North Central HS (Indianapolis) who has been a big name in this class for a few years. Several people were worried a year ago he might have peaked early since like most of the kids on this list he's a year ahead of much of his class but his improvement this summer was spectacular as the sweet shooting bull of a guard continues to make plays driving to the basket with his strength and incredible balance but also is developing more point skills. He was outstanding at the Adidas Nations in July at point. He has offers from Indiana, Xavier, Purdue, Ohio State, and Tennessee and strong interest from North Carolina and others. National Rankings: ESPN #12, Hoopscoop #20, NY2LA #47, Hoopmasters #19, Sportspress TV #22 State Rankings: IndyStar #1,

3. Adolphus Washington is a 6'8 Taft HS (Cincinnati) power forward who was a dominant inside force for All-Ohio Purple who won AAU nationals in the age group yet again. Washington was dominant down the stretch at the AAU Nationals in Clarksville going for 20 in a semi-final win against Indiana Elite, 25 in a quarter against the Georgia Stars, and he recently transfered from Roger Bacon to Taft. Photo at right is from a Roger Macon game taken by Spiritofsports.net which has an outstanding collection of sports photos.

4. Elijah Macon is a 6'8 Marian-Franklin HS power forward who has already found his college home at West Virginia. He came up huge against Nike Team Florida in the AAU Nationals in Orlando with 16 points to lead his All-Ohio Red to the title. National Rankings: ESPN # 10, SportspressTV #30,

5. Ken Kaminski is a 6'7 wing forward from Medina HS (OH) who has a sweet stroke and can play in the paint. Kaminksi has wonderful leaping ability and can put the ball on the floor as well as float up there for some pretty slams. He has offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, and Indiana so far.

6. Ron Patterson is a long armed 6'3 shooting guard from Broadripple HS (IN). Patterson can shoot the three and is developing more of a handle but already one of the best defenders in his class and can score from anywhere on the court. His best trait is his extreme competitiveness which has helped him earn offers from Tennessee, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Cincinnati, Xavier, Depaul. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #89, NY2LA #44, Sportspress TV #95, Local Rankings: Indystar #2,

7. TJ Bell is a 6'8 forward for Bloomington South (IN). He has outstanding athleticism and great reach, but is still a little gangly. Bell is somewhat raw, but very good in the paint. He is getting some serious attention at wide receiver this year good speed for a 6'8 kid. He has an offer from Indiana (for basketball). National Rankings: ESPN #31, NY2LA #28, SportspressTV #37, State Rankings: Indystar #13,

8. AJ Hammons is a strong 6'11 kid from Carmel HS (IN). He is still a work in progress on offense but has soft hands and great potential. Hammons is not usually very aggressive on offense, however on defense he shuts people down and goes after the ball hard at times. When his light goes on he's quite possibly a top ten player nationally. National Rankings: ESPN #30, Hoopscoop # 67, SportspressTV #71, State Rankings: Indystar #5,

9. Jaylen Beckham is a 6'1 cat-quick point guard for powerhouse Lexington Catholic who can get to the basket at will. He’s got a lot of reach and athleticism and is amazing getting to the hoop, uses hesitation well, and has a soft shot but probably needs to extend his range. He made some wild passes when I've seen him, but he was a freshman. He has very good court vision but needs to tighten the whole package a little and could wind up best prospect from Kentucky in several years and is already a special defender. He played well for Hoop Dreams last summer especially at the Boo Williams Invitational and is being recruited by Cincinnati, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Indiana. National Rankings: Hoopscoop (6/17/09) #42, NY2LA #36, SportsPressTV #44, ESPN #83, State Rankings: Demling #1

10. Garry Harris is a 6'3 combo guard for Hamilton Southeastern who jumped around this summer on different AAU teams, he has big time bounce and command of the game. I'm not positive if he's going to be a point guard or not, but he can pass and has a nice three point shot and is a superior scorer. He was outstanding for Up Tempo, Team Indiana, and whomever he laced them up with but got hurt for a couple of weeks in July so not a lot of people got to see him. The Good Mongrel sat next to Tom Crean and Bruce Weber on the first day of the evaluation period at 9:05 AM so head coaches know plenty about him. His parents went to Purdue. National Rankings: State Rankings: Indystar #10,

11. Dejuan Marrero "Rico" Marrero's best trait is his unmatched motor, he is king of the offensive glass and most of his game revolves around cleaning up after others at this point. But the 6'6 Bowman Academy (IN) forward is developing some wing skills and has a decent perimeter shot while unguarded. He has offers from Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, Virginia, and Valparaiso. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #40, ESPN #50, SportspressTV #42, NY2LA #115, State Rankings: Indystar #3,

12. Raphael Davis is a 6'5 well developed kid from Ft Wayne who has committed to Matt Painter at Purdue. He's a pure scorer and can get hot from outside but shows outstanding aggressiveness and has the perfect scoring mentality. National Rankings: ESPN #59, Sportspress TV #62, State Rankings: Indystar #7,

13. Jeremy Hollowell is a rangy 6'6 wing forward from Lawrence Central. He is a smooth shooter with a very good handle to go with long arms. Hollowell has a calm demeanor and can lull you to sleep by looking passive but don't let it fool you because he usually plays great defense which has helped earn him offers from several high majors including Ohio State, Tennessee, Iowa, Cincinnati, and Indiana. National Rankings: NY2LA #76, State Rankings: Indystar #4,

14. Austin Burgett is a 6'8 Avon HS small forward that has three point range, nifty post moves and handles like a wing. He might project to be a power forward in college if he keeps puting on muscle but he grew late and played guard a couple of years ago. He has several good offers already including Cincinnati, Iowa, Ohio, and Northwestern. National Rankings: NY2LA #141, State Rankings: Indystar #6,

15. Yogi Ferrel is a pass-first 5'8 pure point and has really long arms for his size. He has an infectious wide-eyed Mike Singletary type of intense style and is a good defender. Yogi has offers from Purdue, Ohio State, Butler. National Rankings: SportspressTV, #35, ESPN #61, State Rankings: Indystar #8,

16. Jordan Hare is arguably the most promising prospect in Michigan from the 2012 class. He is a 6'7 forward from Saginaw Arthur Hill. Bankhoops has him as the top ranked forward in Michigan. National Rankings: ESPN #48 State Rankings:

17. Jalen Robinson is a 6'8 wing forward from Northland HS (Columbus) who has offers from West Virginia, Akron, and Kent State. Robinson has great length and has outstanding potential. National Rankings: State Rankings:

18. Keith Carter is a 6'0 point from Proviso East who is arguably the class of the special group of sophomore points in Illinois. He was a standout on Team NLP at the NY2LA Shootout along with teammate Aaron Simpson, they drew a crowd of Big Ten coaches to watch. According to Illinoisprepbullseye.com he is the best guard in 2012 in Chicago, he has good range and is strong and athletic and has a calm demeanor on the court. Purdue and Illinois are among the schools he is interested in. He's one of three kids Hendrickson considers vying for the top spot in Illinois in 2012. State Rankings: Chicagohoops #11,

19. Kyle Molock is a 6'1 point guard from Dublin-Coffman HS (Ohio) who committed to Purdue after having a big summer for Ohio Basketball Club. ESPN #65, SportspressTV #91, State Rankings:

20. Bobo Drummond is a 5'11 pg Peoria Central HS has big time potential is on the radar of several Big Ten programs. He is a pure point and still working on getting his own offense but has a great feel for the game. National Rankings , Local Rankings: Chicagohoops #5,

21. Edward Seay is an athletic 6'8 power forward from Merillville. He is long and athletic and should have a huge year. He played well for the SYF Players 2012 squad last summer. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #110, NY2LA #106, State Rankings: Indystar #11,

22. Dylan Kaufman is a 6'4 wing for Hiland HS (Akron) who is a fine shooter and good all around player. He and his CBIZ team were scouted by coaches from Ohio State, Indiana, North Carolina, and others but he already has some good offers including Miami and Akron. National Rankings: State Rankings:

23. Jermaine Morgan is a 6'8 combo forward for Whitney Young. Hendrickson of the Hoopsblog included him among 15 players to watch for this class and said he has as much upside as anyone in the class. National Rankings: ESPN #36 State Rankings: Chicagohoops #19

24. Aaron Simpson is a 5'11 combo guard for North Chicago Community HS who played this summer for Team NLP along with Keith Carter. He's a big time athlete and can shoot. Illinois and Purdue were two schools watching him IN July. Reader comments influenced a bump from 25 to 24 and Chicagohoops backed it up by puting him in a 3 way tie for #1 in the state. National Rankings: State Rankings: Chicagohoops #1

25. Malcolm Hill-Brey is a 5'9 point for Mt Carmel HS (Illinois). He played up for Chicago Summit on their 2011 team in the summer and made a splash. He also played with the Derek Rose All-Stars later in the summer and is being recruited by Tennessee, Indiana, Wake Forrest, Detroit, Marquette, and Illinois. National Rankings: State Rankings: Chicagohoops #14,

26. Jay Simpson had a good summer for the Illinois Wolves. He is a 6'8 forward from Champaign Central HS who committed to Purdue. National Rankings: ESPN #98 State Rankings: Chicagohoops #7,

27. Matt Costello is a 6'8 center from Bay City, Western who is a very good perimeter shooter with excellent potential. He has good shot blocking instincts. I caught him at the Kentucky Hoopfest for Team Pride and he was very good. Bankhoops outstanding website has him ranked #1 post player in his class for Michigan. He has visited Purdue, Ohio State, and Michigan State but no offers yet. National Rankings: ESPN #63, State Rankings:

28. Kellon Thomas is an outstanding 5'9 true point guard from Southport HS who is a very good scorer with a smooth outside shot being recruited by Butler, Indiana, and others played for the Spiece Indy Stars 2012 club. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #126, State Rankings: Indystar #9,

29. Tyrone Sherman is yet another outstanding point guard prospect in this class from Illinois. He is a 6’0 score-first point guard from Homewood-Flossmoor who played up in the summer with the 2011 Illinois Wolves. Sherman was outstanding at the Next Level Invitational and has the confidence and presence on the floor that an elite player needs at the point as well as the ability to knock down three point shots when well guarded. In a link I can no longer find, IllinoisPrepBullseye.com called him one of the top five players in Illinois from the class. State Rankings: Chicagohoops #18,

30. Kellen Dunham is a 6'4 shooter from Pendleton Heights (IN) who I've had a couple of emails about. Here is a quote from comments section on him "Langkabel and Dunham are both highly skilled, solid players. Dunham can shoot from anywhere ...that only adds to his game." He grew four inches from his freshman year and has the attention of big ten and mid-major programs. Dunham had a big summer for the Eric Gordon Indy Stars 2012 squad.

31. Tameron Manning is a 6'3 guard from Scott Co who is an athletic player with great upside. He was dominant against older kids at the Tennessee Elite camp according to Tate on hoopsreport.com. He's had foul trouble a couple of times when I've had the chance to see him so I don't have a great feel for his game. He did get good reviews playing this summer for Hoop Dreams. State Rankings: Demling #3

32. Sean Sheldon is a 6'8 forward from Traverse City St Francis (Michigan) who Bankhoops has as the second best post player in his class from the state. A couple of emailers are big fans of his and suggest he is the best true post man in his class in Michigan. National Rankings: State Rankings:

33. Ray Lee is a 6'2 shooting guard from Detroit Cass Tech. Bankhoops has him as the top ranked shooting guard in Michigan's 2012 class. I have had an email and a reader comment sugesting he is undervalued so we'll give him a bump up from 41 and keep a close eye on him this fall. The anonymous comment also suggested he is more of a point than a wing. National Rankings: State Rankings: Bankhoops #2,

34. CJ Jones is a 6'0 combo guard from Chicago Orr who Hendrickson from the Hoopsreport considers one of three players vying for the top spot in the class and praises his toughness. * 11/11 update here's a great article from Chicagohoops which says CJ has a Depaul offer and is hearing from Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana State, and USC. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/curtisjones1.html State Rankings: Chicagohoops #8,

35. Jelani Neeley is a 6'0 point guard from Chicago Simeon who Hendrickson from the Hoopsreport sees as one of the three players vying for top spot in the state in 2012. National Rankings: State Rankings: Chicagohoops #4

36. Cameron Harvey is a 6'3 guard from St. Joe's in Chicago. He played well for Indiana Elite Team Indiana in the summer and just committed to Wyoming! Congrats Mr Harvey, take lots of pictures its stunning out there! http://ilprepbullseye.com/page7.html National Rankings: ESPN #81, SportspressTV #51, State Rankings: Chicagohoops #10,

37. Malik London is a 6'8 forward from Chillicothe HS (Ohio) who is being tracked by mid-major and high major programs. National Rankings: ESPN #99

38. Desmond Dorsey is a 6'0 scoring point guard from Jeffersontown, Kentucky that I got to see playing for the Nashville Celtics. He's a big time scorer but not sure he is a point yet or not. State Rankings: Demling #2

39. Derrick Randolph is a 5'8 pure point for Chicago Whitney Young who has the quickness you need and plays with some intensity. National Rankings: State Rankings: Chicagohoops #13

40. Glenn Robinson Jr is a shooting guard who had a big summer for the 2012 SYF Players. He says his favorite is Dad's alma mater Purdue but he is also interested in Indiana. National Rankings: NY2LA #99, State Rankings:

41. Lamar Walker is another big man from Michigan. He's a 6'9 kid with potential from Detroit Community HS. Bankhoops has him as the 3rd best post player in his class in Michigan.

42. Delvon Rencher is a strong 6'5 forward for Homewood-Flossmoor (Illinois) that was co-MVP of the Windy City Classic in May for the Derek Rose All-Stars. When I saw him in May he was very strong but undersized for a power player for college so he'll have to grow some or expand his game. National Rankings: State Rankings: Chicagohoops #17

43. Davon Scott is a 6'7 forward for Columbus Northland who manages to stand out even among so many talented big kids on one team. National Rankings: SportspressTV #65.

44. Jerad Drew is a 6'5 wing from Lawrence Central (Indianapolis) who has outstanding reach and athleticism. He can drive, shoot, and defend but needs to be a little more polished. He's getting early interest from Indiana, Illinois, and several mid-major schools. He came up huge on the defensive side of the ball in two separate championship games against JP Tokoto as he teamed with Jeremy Hollowell to hold Tokoto to the peremiter where he was less effective.

45. Marcus Jones is a 6’4 forward playing for Team Detroit who is one of the top 2012 players in the midwest. He had nice write-ups for his performance at the King James event in April.

46. Fred Van Vleet 2012 is a 6’0 point guard for Rockford Auburn who plays summer for Rockford 5-O. He was playing well at 17U for them at the Chicago Tip-Off Classic. Chicagohoops raved about him saying he has a strong frame, is a good decision maker, passer, and handles the ball well. At the Nike Spring Shootout in Merrillville he played for Pryme Time and won the bronze division and also when winning the 15U division at End of Summer Classic in Merrillville. He's thin but changes speeds well and is a leader on the floor. Depal and Illinois are recruiting him. National Rankings: State Rankings: Chicagohoops #6,

47. DJ Ballantine is a 5'11 point guard from Kokomo (IN) who had a big performance at the Michigan Elite Camp this summer. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #190 (June/09), State Rankings: Indystar #20,

48. Rhett Smith is a versatile 6'5 wing forward from Sullivan HS (IN). Smith is tough, has range and plays with some strength and is one of those prospects who really needs a couple of inches and will explode up the rankings. He came up big playing with his 2012 Spiece Indy Stars going up against the 2011 King James All-Stars scoring 18 points including the game winning three pointer in a game at the Kansas City Hoopfest this July. Southern Illinois and Indiana State are recruiting him and he has an offer from Deleware.

49. Desmond Ridenour is a guard from Cleveland Benedictine to keep an eye on. According to comments from readers... "6'0 PG on the same (Cleveland)Benedictine team as Cameron Wright(your 2010 #10). With schools such as Florida, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State coming to the open gyms to see this crafty yet explosive young player he is definitely one to watch for.",

50. Orlando Berry Jr is an undersized point who runs the show for Taft HS and his dad's dominant All-Ohio Purple AAU program. They won the Nationals in Clarksville, Tennessee behind Berry's leadership. His old man played with Alan Houston at UT.

50. Charles Harris is a 6'3 guard for Lake Forrest academy and Full Package Athletics in the summer. I had him in the honorable mention until Chicagohoops updated their state rankings and put him in a 3 way tie for #1 so I'll give him a debut on the list. National Rankings: State Rankings: Chicagohoops #1

Possible top 50 candidates:

Austin Angel is a 6'3 guard from Boylan (Rockford) State Rankings: Chicagohoops #12

Aaric Armstead is a 6'4 guard from Chicago Hales-Franciscan. State Rankings: Chicagohoops #16

Conner Boehm is a 6'6 New Trier forward.

Travis Britt is an outstanding point guard prospect for Culver Millitary Academy. He is being recruited by Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Drake, Michigan, and Dayton. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #149, State Rankings:

Nathan Boothe is a 6'7 forward from Warren. Chicagohoops #20,

Nate Brooks is a 6'5 Whitney Young guard who got MVP of the 15U division for Illinois T-Wolves at the tip-off classic 3/30.

Deontra Brown is a 6'1 guard for Plainfield HS (IL).

Brent Calhoun is a 6'7 forward for Indianapolis Warren Central who played for the Spiece All-Stars 2012 squad with Patterson, Hollowell, Burgett, and company. State Rankings: Indystar #17,

Trashaun Carroll is a 6'5 forward from Proviso East (was with Curie last year) who plays strong, plays on the Chicago Summit and did a good job playing up with 16U at the tip-off classic per chicagohoops. The next week he was with the 15-U Derek Rose All-Stars playing in the Knoxvegas Heat tourney. State Rankings: Chicagohoops #20,

Max Clemons is a guard from Scottsburg, IN who had a huge summer for Team Southern Indiana (Red).

Jaleel Cousins is a 6'8 forward for Tates Creek who just so happens to be Demarcus Cousins' cousin.

Charles Foster plays for Derek Smith All-Stars in the summer and Trinity (Louisville) for school. I've read Hoopmasters has him in their top 150 but can't find a free link for that.

Jordan Foster is a 5'11 point guard from Oak Park-River Forrest who is among the best of the several elite points in this class from Illinois. Some reader comments from "anonymous" suggest he's equally effective on both sides of the ball.

Myles Hamilton is a point guard from St Edwards OH.

Chris Harrison-Docks is a 5'11 combo guard playing this year for Okemos HS (MI). He was in Kentucky last year and played for Indiana Elite Team Indiana over the summer.

Brad Hartman is a 6'7 forward from Union (IN) with a big future but he's a bit skinny now. he shows excellent fundamentals and improved rapidly this summer for the Spiece Indy Stars 2012 squad.

Chris Heaney is a 6'3 guard from Lincoln Park (IL).

RJ Hunter is a 5'10 point guard from Indianapolis whose dad is the famous African shoe donor who coaches IUPUI.

Patrick Ingram is a 6'1 combo guard for North Central (Indianapolis) who was outsanding for the Eric Gordon 2012 all-stars. State Rankings: Indystar #15,

Logan Irwin is a 5'9 high scoring point guard for dad's team Whitko HS. State Rankings: Indystar #16,

Ronnie Johnson is a 6'0 combo guard for Indianapolis North Central. National Rankings: State Rankings: Indystar #12,

Andrew Jordan is a 6'5 small forward for the Illinois Wolves in 2012.

Jason Kilongi is a wonderful sleeper from Bishop Leurs in Ft Wayne who looked great for Spiece Gym Rats Davis. He was on JV last year but should be unleashed this year.

Dylan Lankabel is a guard from Morristown who was outsanding for the Eric Gordon Indy Stars 2012 club.

Michael Mache is a 6'5 forward for Illinois Select and Glenbard HS (Glenelyn, IL).

Matthew Mache is a 6'5 forward for Glenbard (Glenelyn, IL) and Illinois Select.

Kellon McCormick is a 6'6 wing from Notre Dame Prep who shoots the lights out and is still growing.

Nick Osbourne is a 6'7 Muncie Central with a bright future. State Rankings: Indystar #14,

Jordan Potts is a 5'10 point guard for Columbus Northland HS who hit a string of big three pointers in the tournament last year. He has an offer from James Madison.

Michael Ramey is a 6'4 wing for Southport (Indianapolis). State Rankings: Indystar #18,

Jacoby Roddy is a 6'5 swingman for Peoria Manual that played for the Illinois Wolves 2012 club in the summer.

Jordan Smith is a 6'3 wing guard for Chicago Whitney Young and the Illinois T-Wolves in the summer.

Akeem Springs is a 6'3 guard from Waukeegan (IL).

Jeff "Kiki" Stokes is a sleeper to watch from Peoria Manual. He's a point guard in the summer for the Illinois Wolves 2012 club.

Steve Taylor is a 6'7 forward for Simeon (Chicago). State Rankings: Chicagohoops #9,

Tim Williams is a 6'7 forward from Homewood-Flossmore. State Rankings: Chicagohoops #15

Anton Wilson is a 6'5 wing from Flint who played for Team Pride over the summer who looked great. Cleveland State has offered and Iowa is also interested.

* Note on rankings, ESPN only ranks a top 25 officially, but if you search 2012 prospects and then click on grade, it gives them in the order they have them picked in thus far. I don't have a prescription to Hoopscoop or NY2LA unfortunately, I've included their rankings on several prospects that I ran across online in different articles. A kid showing no rankings doesn't mean they are really unranked.

Hoop World Recruiting Update!

2009-11-06T00:02:00.003-05:00

Congrats to Dakotah Euton (seen in this CJ photo) who committed to the Akron Zips today! Euton is a hard working forward who plays with some strength, has some post moves, and is one of those rare big men who excels with the outlet pass. I'm thrilled for Euton because the Good Mongrel hears Euton is a great kid and by not being stuck in the commitment he made to Billy Clyde Gillespie a few years ago Euton finds a program where his substantial talents will be taken advantage of. What a great ending for Euton and the Zips who have an excellent recruiting class in 2010. Coach Dambrot will love this blue collar warrior! http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/11/euton-picks-akron.html

High Major Scoop has a nice summary of the top players in Ohio from 2010 and what college they settled on. They list the top players at each position plus some NAIA talent, and include several unsigned kids on their position lists including: Nick Kellogg from Columbus De Sales, Geron Johnson from Dunbar, Anton Hutchins from Lima Sr, Darnell Tubbs from Trotwood Madison, Anthony Jackson from Gahanna Lincoln, and one of the stars of the Kentucky Hoopfest, Allen Payne from Winton Woods. http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/11/national-sigining-day-nearing/

Russ Smith of Sout Kent (Conn) has given embattled Rick Pitino his fourth commitment in the 2010 class, problem is the first three are no longer on board. Justin Martin left for Xavier, Josh Langford stopped hearing from UL and decommitted, and the big man went to Europe. Kent is a 6'8 forward who had a breakout game at the Jordan Brand Classic. http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/11/05/collier-to-oregon-state/

Here's a name I've heard a few times but haven't got to see yet. Sometimes kids who don't play AAU come in and make a splash like Gordon Hayward did at Butler. Here's a kid who has been reputed to be a high major talent by some who've seen the action at the South Suburban Fall League in Chicago. He is 6'3 Adonis Bailey and he plays for Richards (Chicago area). http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/2009/11/no_myth_about_it_adonis_can_pl.html

Two of the most unheralded kids I got to see this summer were Kadeem Green and Christian Kabongo. They are much more talented than many of the big wings who are ranked ahead of them on the big lists. Green committed to Missouri last week with almost no fan fare, Tiger fans will love the kid. He's long at 6'7ish and moves like a guard and has a nose for the basket. Kabongo is a really tough one for me to judge, he inked with East Carolina. The kid was a basketball version of a one man band when I got to see him this summer, he can handle, play defense, shoot, and makes highlight play after highlight play. He was a bit unrefined in his style, and I'm not sure the roll academics played in his recruitment, but East Carolina absolutely got a steal. He'll put up some big time stats for East Carolina, he's a stunning talent. According to the link, he'll be joining the Pirates in January. http://www.hoopstarscanada.com/news.pl?nid=55 Here's a link on Green. http://www.hoopstarscanada.com/news.pl?nid=54

Columbus North's 6'8 center Tyler Greathouse is getting recruited heavily by several mid-major programs and has offers from IUPUI, Indiana Wesleyan, UW-Milwuakee, and others. The kid can really shoot and busts his butt, it'll be fun to see how good he can be as he puts on more strength. http://www.hoosierhillshoops.com/2009/11/01/columbus-norths-greathouse-has-college-interest/

Another 2010 center off the boards recently was Dave Dudzinski of Kaneland HS (Winter Park, IL) committed to Holy Cross of the Patriot League. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page45.html

News is a week old, but the thorough Mongrel wants to make sure everyone heard Shining Stars shooting guard Donovan Gibbs committed to Shoeless Ron Hunter and the IUPUI Jaguars. http://shiningstarsports.blogspot.com/2009/10/shining-star-player-donovan-gibbs.html

Some of the best big kids left in Michigan in the 2010 class are Shane Tiemeyer, Jerel Pratt, Colin DeHann, Christian Beechum, and Brandon Crane. http://blog.mlive.com/highschoolbasketball/2009/11/still_some_size_out_there.html

Kearney pulls the trigger for Izzo, other updates...

2009-11-03T12:20:00.009-05:00

As expected, the 19th best player in Mongreltopia for the 2011 class pulled the trigger for Tom Izzo's Michigan State basketball powerhouse on Tuesday. Brandon Kearney is a solid athlete who is impressive going to the bucket and he also is a very competitive player. The Spartans beat out Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio State for Kearney. The Spartans have been on a roll after adding Adreian Payne to finish up their 2010 class. With two bigs from the '08, '09, and '10 recruiting classes who aren't exactly suited to guard a 3, look for Michigan State to focus on a point and another wing to finish out the 2011 class. Top candidates are Lucas-Perry, Jeremiah Davis, Anton Grady, and possibly Dwann Anderson if he keeps impressing and secures that coveted Spartans offer.

Kentucky:

Perhaps the biggest recruiting drama in the state of Kentucky right now surrounds 2011 forward Chane Behannon who is being targeted by Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are not to be dismissed lightly as they landed a strong 09 class and have had Chane on campus for an elite camp and at least two unofficial visits. The Hilltoppers are also deeply involved with the second most intriguing recruiting battle in the state. Ge'lawn Guyn was close to verballing for WKU before originally choosing Charlotte. Two schools of thought around Guyn are floating out there. One is that he has blown up to a high major status and is close to offers from Texas, Georgia Tech, and Indiana. The other is that he still likes Western and might not wait to see who else offers.

Previously mentioned Kearney and Payne were notably UK targets. One of the quiet surprises across the country has been UK's difficulty in closing on most of their top 2010 targets after a near historic 2009 recruiting class. The Wildcats have secured one outstanding prospect in Stacey Poole from Jacksonville, Florida, but have missed on more than anyone could have imagined. I try not to comment much on UK recruiting because they have so many more fans than anyone else it overwhelms your inbox and everybody who follows recruiting has a half dozen good solid UK sources who seem to always think they are about to get whatever kid decides next no matter what the details are. But I keep hearing one theme reflected back from UK directions, several recruits UK goes after have the kind of potential to only play a couple of years in college before going pro and those kids will not choose UK over another good program if they are worried about getting on the floor. I believe several of UK's top targets have deliberately decided to wait until spring to get a feel for what John Wall, Orton, Liggins, and Cousins will look like under Calipari and if they will leave this year. How good Bledsoe looks at pg could be a factor as well. When you recruit kids who only want to play a year or two before going pro, you might have to continue going down the list like Calipari has done. If Bledsoe is human, Wall goes pro along with one of the freshman big kids, then expect UK to have their pick of the litter this spring and wind up with a Selby, Leslie, Poole, Jones type of class probably mixed in with a juco or two for stability since UK stands to lose so many seniors this year. However, if Bledsoe looks formidable for the next three years and UK returns both big freshmen UK might have a little more trouble getting a special class back to back than their fans expect.

Indiana:

Here is a look at five emerging prospects from Indiana from Indianapolis Star recruiting writer Kyle Neddenreip. http://www.indystar.com/article/20091101/SPORTS0615/91101014/1361/SPORTS0615/Under+the+recruiting+radar++but+ready+to+soar
Jared Drew, Nick Osbourne, Kellon Dunham, and Michael Ramey are four candidates to make Mongreltopia's exlusive top 50 list for 2012 prospects while Colin Hartman is a wonderful early bet for a nationally ranked top 50 player. The Good Mongrel likes VJ Beachum and Daryl Baker the most in Indiana in the 2013 class so far, but Hartman along with the Scott twins in Ft Wayne are among the highest profile kids in the class this early.

Another Neddenreip article updates Princeton, IN point guard Jalen Packer's recruitment. Packer is getting recruited by Butler, Southern Indiana, Purdue, and has offers from Evansville and others. The article also takes a look at mountainous Carmel center AJ Hammons' recruitment. Indiana and Purdue are among recent visitors to see the slimmed down Hammons. Avon is best known for Kendall Griffin and Austin Burgett, but Juan Sarver has his own following from area coaches including offers from Wright State and Morehead State.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20091030/SPORTS0615/910300376/1361/SPORTS0615/Its+2010+class+filled++Butler+looks+ahead

Purdue has already overcommitted for its 2012 class. With only 2 rides scheduled to come open, they have commitments from Kyle Molock (ESPN's 65th highest graded prospect), Raphael Davis (59th), and Jay Simpson (98th). Matt Painter has a well earned reputation for being a shrewd talent evaluator, and with the depth of talent available in Indiana for 2012 you can bet those three kids are going to be worth the gamble. It might leave Glenn Robinson Jr wandering what he's going to be doing with his college years however, the little dog had a big July for the 15U SYF players! Purdue has a lot of offers out in 2011, but seems to be best positioned with Chason Randle and Brandon Dawson right now. If Jujuan Johnson goes pro as expected Purdue should only have two rides available in 2011, and with overcommitments in 2010 and 2012 those two would be an ideal way for Purdue to finish their classes. Purdue basketball seems to be capturing its on the court momentum and finding the next wave of kids to compete for Big Ten Championships after Hummel, Johnson, and Kramer leave.

Ohio:

Thad Matta has wasted no time after landing a top 2010 class. OSU is always looking for a point guard to emerge, and the Good Mongrel expects William Buford and Walter Offut to help guarding that spot this year, but the future is currently in the hands of Aaron Craft, a 2010 commitment. OSU has hosted Chason Randle and Quinn Cook from the class of 2011, two kids who certainly would stop the bleeding at the point. Another point targeted by OSU is Yogi Ferrell, a 2012 star from Park Tudor, Indianapolis. OSU has also targeted Georgia guard Shannon Scott who seems to favor Clemson but lists OSU as his second favorite.

Many of the top prospects in Ohio participated in the Nike All-Ohio City Series in Columbus. The event was put on by All-Ohio's Jerry Watson and included top performances by 6'5 Bowling Green commitment Craig Seely from Columbus Brookhaven who won MVP (pictured above), as well as Dublin Coffman's Christian Heine and Michael Green, Columbus Beechcroft's Leo Delvin, Teays Valley's Nate Anderson, and Jake Forrest of Hilliard Bradley among others. The underclassman MVP was Harvest Prep pg Adam McCall (2012) and others on the all tournament team included Northland's 6'8 Devon Scott (2012) and 6'4 KeChuann Lewis, along with Brookhaven's 6'6 Kahlid King, Liberty's 6'6 Nick Archer, and Terry Hopewell of Independence. Previously mentioned recent Purdue commitment Kyle Molock was a participant. http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009/11/2/first-annual-nike-all-ohio-city-series-top-40-a-success

Help the Mongrel put together a 2012 top 50!

2009-11-02T15:21:00.010-05:00

* Still a draft, rankings on there are not final I haven't researched a handful of them and have more notes to go through from July but I thought I'd update the draft in case it inspired more commtents.*

OK, I think the more high school and AAU basketball I see the less I think of the wisdom of doing lists for freshmen and sophomores, its so hard to be consistent with balancing potential and current ability. So I need your help! I know who the best prospects I've seen are, and I've seen the majority of the high profile ones, many in July for the first time though. So give me your two cents in the comments section or email the Good Mongrel using the side bar. I'll research any player you advocate and if I find any support that the kid is actually close to what you say I'll get him on there somewhere.

Here is a rough start, I did this with the juniors and seniors in OH/IN/IL/MI/KY and the final list turned out a little different than where we started and I'm keeping this list pretty interactive so help me out!

Likely top 10 candidates:
1. Emanual Ochenje (6'9 IL #52 nationally per ESPN, this 6'9 force is already muscular, long, and moves very well, still a little raw but gets it done on both sides of the ball even at this stage),
2. Devontes Smith-Rivera (6'3 North Central HS IN #12 nationally per ESPN this bull of a combo guard is groing more and more into a point, has sweet looking shot and amazing balance in trafic, looked great at point in Adidas Nations this summer and keeps getting better),
3. Adolphus Washington (6'8 OH was dominant inside force for All-Ohio Purple who won AAU nationals in the age group again),
4. Elijah Macon (6'8 Marian-Franklin HS OH #10 nationally per ESPN West Virginia commit came up huge against Nike Team Florida in Orlando in a championship victory for All-Ohio Red with 16 points.),
5. Ken Kaminski (6'7 Medina HS OH has a sweet stroke and can play in the paint, plus has wonderful leaping ability and can put the ball on the floor),
6. Ron Patterson (Broadripple IN 6'3 is a long armed two guard who can shoot the three and is developing more of a handle but already one of the best defenders in his class and can score from anywhere on the court best trait is competitiveness has offers from OSU, Tenn, IU, PU, UI, Cincinnati, Xavier),
7. TJ Bell (6'8 Bloomington South IN #31 nationally per ESPN has amazing athleticism and great reach, still a little gangly but very good in the paint, is getting some serious attention at wide receiver this year good speed),
8. AJ Hammons (6'11 Carmel IN #30 nationally per ESPN is still a work in progress on offense, has soft hands and great potential on offense but not aggressive, however on defense he shuts people down and goes after the ball, when his light goes on he's a top ten player nationally),
9. Jaylen Beckham (6'1 pg Lex Catholic KY #1 player in 2012 in KY per Demling he is stunningly quick and can get to the basket at will, very good court vision needs to tighten the whole package a little and could wind up best prospect from Kentucky in several years),

Shaping up next group order still subject to research and comments:
10. Garry Harris (6'3 combo guard Hamilton SE jumped around this summer on different AAU teams, he has big time bounce and command of the game),
11. Dejuan Marrero (#50 nationally per ESPN has unmatched motor, is king of the offensive glass and most of his game revolves around cleaning up after others at this point but 6'6 forward is developing some wing skills),
12. Keith Carter (pg from Proviso East is arguably the class of the special group of sophomore points in Ill was a standout on Team NLP at the NY2LA Shootout along with teammate Aaron Simpson, they drew a crowd of Big Ten coaches to watch)
13. Raphael Davis (6'5 Ft Wayne star and PU commit is a pure scorer #59 nationally per ESPN),
14. Jeremy Hollowell (6'6 Lawrence Central smooth shooter has good handle, long arms, plays great defense has offers from several high majors),
15. Jermaine Morgan (6'8 Whitney Young #36 nationally per ESPN, #6 in class per Chicagohoops for IL),
16. Austin Burgett (6'8 Avon HS has three point range, nifty post moves and handles like a wing has several good offers already),
17. Yogi Ferrel (5'8 point has really long arms for his size wide-eyed Mike Singletary type of intensity good defender and #78 nationally per ESPN has offers from Purdue, Ohio State, Butler),
18. Jordan Hare (#48 nationally per ESPN is arguably the best prospect in Michigan in his class and one to watch this year),
19. Jay Simpson (Purdue commitment and Illinois star is #98 nationally per ESPN),
20. Matt Costello (6'8 center is best suited as a perimiter shooter for now, growing into rest of his game #63 nationally per ESPN),
21. Kyle Molock (PU commitment 6'1 Dublin-Coffman HS OH #65 nationally per ESPN),
22. Bobo Drummond (5'11 pg Peoria HS has big time potential is on the radar of several Big Ten programs),
23. Edward Seay (6'8 Merillville is long and athletic at 6'7 should have a huge year),
24. Dylan Kaufman (6'4 Hiland HS from Akron is a fine shooter and good all around player from Akron who has been scouted by coaches from Ohio State, Indiana, North Carolina, and others but already has some good offers including Miami.
25. Malcolm Hill-Brey (pg Mt Carmel IL),
26. Kellon Thomas (5'9 point is a very good scorer with a smooth outside shot being recruited by Butler, Indiana, and others plays for Southport HS, Indianapolis),
27. Aaron Simpson (N Chicago Community pg Chicagohoops #3 in IL for 2012 he played along with Keith Carter for Team NLP),
28. Kellen Dunham (6'4 shooter from Pendleton Heights who I've had a couple of emails about, here is a quote from comments section on him "Langkabel and Dunham are both highly skilled, solid players. Dunham can shoot from anywhere ...that only adds to his game."),
29. Tameron Manning (6'3 Scott Co, KY's #3 player in 2012 per Demling),
30. Delvon Rencher (6'5 Homewood-Flossmoor IL Chicagohoops #5 in class for IL)
31. Cameron Harvey (#81 nationally per ESPN),
32. Malik London (#99 nationally per ESPN),
33. Desmond Dorsey (6'0 Jeffersontown KY, Demling #2 in KY for 2012),
34. Derrick Randolph (5'8 pg Whitney Young Chicagohoops #7 in 2012 for IL),
35. Malik London (6'8 Chillicothe HS OH),
36. Glenn Robinson Jr,
37. Lamar Walker (6'9 MI Community HS),
38. Jelani Neeley (6'0 pg Simeon IL Chicagohoops #8 in 2012 for IL),
39. Ray Lee (pg/sg Detroit),
40. Jordan Potts (5'10 OH Northland HS),
41. Jerad Drew (6'5 Lawrence Central wing has outstanding reach and athleticism, can shoot and defend),
42. Myles Hamilton (pg St Edwards OH),
43. Sean Sheldon (Bankhoops #2 center in Michigan 6'8 Traverse City St Francis)
44. DJ Ballantine is a point from ,IN who had a big performance at the Michigan Elite Camp this summer.
45. Rhett Smith (6'5 wf Sullivan IN is tough, has range and plays with some strength),
46. Desmond Ridenour from comments.. "6'0 PG on the same (Cleveland)Benedictine team as Cameron Wright(your 2010 #10). With schools such as Florida, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State coming to the open gyms to see this crafty yet explosive young player he is definitely one to watch for.",
47. Orlando Berry Jr (undersized point runs the show for dominant All-Ohio Purple AAU program)
48. Jordan Foster (5'11 Oak Park-River Forrest IL comments from anonymous include him in the "Magnificent 7" points from Ill in this class and suggest he's effective on both sides of the ball),
49.
50.

Possible top 50 candidates: RJ Hunter (5'10 pg IN), Michael Ramey (6'4 IN), Nick Osbourne (6'7 Muncie Central), Ronnie Johnson (6'1 Indianapolis NC), Logan Irwin (5'8 Whitko HS), Jalen Robinson (Northland HS 6'6), Chris Harrison-Docks (5'11 Okemos HS), Akeem Springs (6'3 IL Waukeegan), Nate Brooks (6'5 Whitney Young), Chris Heaney (6'3 IL Lincoln Park), Deontra Brown (6'1 Plainfield HS IL), Jordan Smith (6'3 Whitney Young), Michael Mache (6'5 Glenbard IL), Matthew Mache (6'5 Glenbard IL), Marcellus Barksdale (5'10 KY), Charles Harris (6'3 Lake Forrest #9 player in IL in 2012 per Chicagohoops), Dylan Lankabel, Jason Kilongi is a wonderful sleeper from Bishop Leurs in Ft Wayne who looked great for Spiece Gym Rats Davis., Max Clemons (TSI) , Jeff "Kiki" Stokes (Peoria Manual pg and Illinois Wolves 2012), Jacoby Roddy (6'5 swingman Peoria Manual and Illinois Wolves 2012), Andrew Jordan (6'5 small forward Illinois Wolves 2012), Conner Boehm is 6'6 New Trier forward #10 on Chicagohoops list in this class, Patrick Ingram (sg Indianapolis was outsanding for the Eric Gordon 2012 all-stars), Trashaun Carroll is a 6'5 forward from Proviso East who plays strong,

Who am I leaving out? Let me know, I'll give it a few days to finish the list and make this one more interactive than even the 2011 list was. The photo above shows 2010 Indiana star Garrett Ross attacking Yogi Farrell, Marques Teague, Dejuan Marrero, and Raphael Davis.

The Good Mongrel Returns With Tricks and Treats!

2009-10-30T15:13:00.004-04:00

Thank you for your patience as the Good Mongrel has spent time away from Hoops the last couple of weeks. The top 50 lists were a hoot and I'd love to do one for 2012 soon but I really feel underexposed to the younger kids in parts of Michigan and Ohio from that class so I wouldn't do it justice. Perhaps we can do an interactive one soon and I'll suggest some kids and have a few days for input from readers before we put it together. But it'll be even more interactive. The Mongrel sees a lot of hoops, but doesn't want to fall into the trap of pretending I see them all.

Lets take a state by state look at what's been going on in the last days before hoops gets going again.

Illinois:

Congrats to Levonte Dority who won't be cold for a long, long time after leaving high school. That is a kid understanding what is important about life, but don't forget to hit the books before the bikinis young man! Dority is joining Stan Heath's South Florida club, they are quickly building a very strong program and Dority should help. He's a dynamic scoring point guard who has a nice feel for the game as a point but can put up buckets in a hurry. We'll check in on Foreman and his other three D1 teammates as much as we can this year! Imagine playing in the best league in America but not living in the snow zone! http://ilprepbullseye.com/page9.html

Chicagohoops has been busy puting out some great previews. They put out a preview of their all CPL team which includes Ahmad Starks, Mike McCall, Wayne Blackshear, Brandon Spearman, and Jermaine Winfield. The only junior is Blackshear, the rest are seniors. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/earlyallcpl.html Chicagohoops also took a look recently at six of the top scoring seniors still unsigned for college and named Jay Harris, Hollis Hill (pictured above in a ST shot), Kyle Clevenger, Kashune McKinney, Gerald Dorsey, and Luke Labedzki. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/buckets.html

Depaul is in a major rebuilding mode after going 0-18 in the Big East last year, but they seem to be scaring UI and other area schools in recruiting. Jabari Parker, Mike Shaw, and Wayne Blackshear were just three of the several recruits who decided to spend the opening night of practice with Coach Wainright and his new dynamic coaching staff. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page39.html

Summer leagues are a great place to see how kids used that AAU time and summer to develop. The South Suburban Exposure League was a big success and several kids used it to show they have great years ahead of them. Rajhan Muhammad, Darius Draper, and Dominique Jackson were just a few of the stars who stepped forward. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page4.html

IllinoisHSBasketball.com is puting out some great stuff, here is a link to some updates from Week 6 of the Full Package Exposure League. Dig through their archives for some older stuff, its well worth it. http://illinoishsbasketball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1054&Itemid=1

Michigan:

Coach Tom Izzo has outdone himself in recruiting, he already had one of the best guards in the country lined up for 2010 in Appleton and now he is adding one of the most talented power forwards in the country in Adreian Payne. Until the last couple of days it was hard to read where Payne would end up, but he's on his way to East Lansing. West Virginia and Kentucky seemed to have a lot of momentum with Payne, but he chose the program that has been to 5 final fours in 11 years. Wise young man!

Central Michigan has been on fire! Coach Zeigler's squad has landed several top kids for 2010 and the most recent additions were a couple of big kids. Coach Buscemi at Loyola HS is seeing his 6'8 big man go big time as Jevon Harden joined recent commit 6'10 Nate VanArendonk from Grand Haven HS. Both kids had several good offers and VanArendonk joins recent commit Colin Voss and Derek Jackson for Central Michigan.

The Styles 3 Elite Showcase was one of the many good internal events going on in Michigan the last few weeks. Dwann Anderson perhaps made the biggest splash as several reports had him continuing to play his way into one of the elite prospects in the 2011 class in the country as he showed his high major athleticism and kept hitting shots. Anderson has offers from Central Michigan, Utah, and Oakland and has strong interest from Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, and more. He was a star for Parallel 45 over the summer. Tommie McCune and Matt Costello were two of the other standouts.

I'll take a look around Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio in an upcoming post and perhaps lay the groundwork for a collaborative effort with you the Good Mongrel's readers for a dynamic 2012 top 50 list as well. Don't let me just put all the kids I've seen on there, I'll be looking for people to convince me I have to put on somebody I have not seen a lot of yet because its a blog and lists are always a little arbitrary at least and I couldn't do it otherwise.

Mongreltopia top 50 Class of 2011

2009-10-15T14:59:00.021-04:00

OK, I've heard from the fans and learned commentators, researched a few of the kids I haven't seen much of (or in some cases at all yet) and am ready to take my first stab. I've got a list of over 75 kids I'd like to include on the top 50 from my own observations or from reader comments and I had better put out the list before I get more emails about kids I've overlooked (researching a kids performances is much more time consuming than going to a gym and seeing dozens of them come to you). I'll rely on the opinions of others and the first few reports from some of the best evaluators I've linked over the summer. But I've seen plenty of most of these guys to defend the picks so here it is the 50+ best college prospects in Mongreltopia (not best pro prospects).

1. Michael Chandler - I'll go out on a limb on this one, this is a kid who didn't start and rarely had big games as a freshman for Lawrence North. But he was playing behind a 6'10 Xavier commitment, a 6'9 Louisville commitment, a 6'8 Florida International commitment, a 6'6 Louisville commitment, and a 6'7 Xavier commitment in LN's front court. He's a true center, about 6'11 now and he has shown his athleticism enough on the summer circuit to be ranked top ten nationally with Rivals and have caught other people's eye. With a little work on his game facing the basket he is going to be big time!

2. Marques Teague - Another Indianapolis prospect, Teague is usually described as farther along than his older brother. He has rare court vision and is much more of a true point than his brother. His NBA future is crystal clear. The junior is still not as good at leading his team as some other point prospects, I've seen him get outplayed a few times by less athletic kids. But he is special and is a likely lottery pick after his freshman year. Louisville and Kentucky appear to be co-leaders for him with Cincinnati, Indiana, and Purdue still in the picture.

3. Wayne Blackshear is a very athletic wing from Chicago. He made some waves with the Mac Irvin Fire this summer after being criticized quite a bit along with teammate Mike Shaw for being very talented but not backing it up on the court. But as the summer went on he had more and more good performances. He and Shaw are rumored to want to be a package deal with Louisville being the most rumored beneficiary.

4. Brandon Dawson is deserving of this recognition now, but he is one of the kids who has the most potential to slide back into the pack if he doesn't keep progressing. Dawson is the best rebounder I've seen in his class. He's a dominant force close to the basket with his long arms and spectacular athleticism. But he is very limited laterally, and only about 6'5 or 6'6 right now so if he does not continue to progress or improve his small forward skills he could be a mediocre college player. He's got a great motor and two more years of high school, so for now he gets the complete benefit of the doubt. And if I didn't give it to him, he'd tear my arms and legs off because the kid is a physical presence right now!

5. Cody Zeller is one of my favorites in the class. Most lists I see have him in the top 50 nationally but I think that might be underselling the kid. He is at least 6'9 right now and has shown a better motor and progression with his game than his brothers did. Cody is a very good ball handler, has a good perimeter shot, and is a very good passer. He has some post moves and plays tough for a skinny kid. He's skinny but looks as a sophomore the way Tyler looked a year older. Indiana and North Carolina appear to be in the best early shape with him, but Florida, Purdue, Notre Dame, Butler, Iowa, and other schools are involved.

6. James Siakam is a 6'6 beast of a power forward who blew me away this summer for the Illinois Titans. The kid has an infectious smile and a great attitude off the court and is a lot like Brandon Dawson I mentioned earlier. He's a very strong player on both sides of the ball, he's a dominant player right now. But if he doesn't grow or expand his game he could slide down the list fast next year because great 6'6 power forwards at this level usually top out as ordinary undersized power forwards at the next level. No way he or Dawson can guard an Evan Turner type on the wing in the Big Ten or another high major conference. But with 2 more years to go they get total benefit of the doubt that they will grow or expand their game. That won't fly with the senior list though.

7. Amir Williams Williams is a 6'10 center with excellent defensive instincts, good reach, and very good athleticism. He flew under the radar last year for Detroit County Day who had two other high major big men who were seniors. But it was often Williams who got noticed for having a nice motor while his teammates were criticized for a lack thereof. Williams, like Chandler is picked a lot on potential but he has the body and work ethic and has shown what he can do, its only a matter of time before he does it night in and night out.

8. Nana Egwu is another big kid with tons of potential the good Mongrel would be unwise to overlook. Egwu is 6'9 and has only been playing basketball for three years now. He teamed up with the Illinois Wolves to have arguably the most successful AAU season of any program from Illinois (the Warriors spring was better and the Fire were solid in July so argue away about that if you wish). The phrase "Egwu is still raw" seems to have been reprinted into every profile I've seen on him this summer, but that didn't slow down Matt Painter, Bo Ryan, Tom Crean, or Bruce Weber who won the Egwu sweepstakes when he announced a few days ago.

9. Sam Thompson is a 6'6 wing from Chicago with the ability to play all over the floor. He's very skinny and most of what you hear on Thompson seems to focus on his potential and what he can be, but for a kid who is talked about on potential all the time he was awfully productive this summer. Thompson has a long list of about ten schools but the good Mongrel has posted several times that the buzz around Thompson always seems to start with Oregon State.

10. Jeremiah Davis is a 6'3 combo guard from Muncie, Indiana. He has been a big name in recruiting circles since Billy Gillespie, Bruce Pearl, and Tom Crean offered him over a year ago. Davis is a very intelligent well spoken kid that fans will find easy to like. However, the knock on him was a lot like the knock on Marques Teague. They were both obviously athletically gifted but they didn't seem to have the intangibles that makes their teams successful as freshmen. I saw that in May when Davis was extremely impressive at all facets of the game except knowing when to shoot and when to look to get his teammates in rhythm. Then in July Davis looked a lot more comfortable and within himself. I need to see more, but Davis appears to have answered his questions. Michigan State and Indiana are strong with him right now.

11. Chason Randle is a 6'2 point guard from Rock Island, Illinois. He drew great reviews playing for the 16U junior team this summer and is best known for playing under control and showing leadership. He has a solid three point shot and is good at penetrating but his strongest point is probably his leadership and his intangibles. Purdue, Iowa State, and Illinois get the most buzz with him.

12. Anton Grady is a kid I admit I didn't know anything about until I stumbled across him at an AAU event. He's a high major athlete from the Cleveland area with incredible length on the wing for the NEO-Ballers. More accurately I should say I stumbled across a Michigan State assistant at an AAU event this summer. The crowds were all watching Teague/Marrero/Hopkins and I went around to some of the back courts to get some pictures and almost fell across a MSU assistant who was the only coach watching the game. It was one of those Yellowstone moments where you see a car pulled to the side of the road and you know they are watching some bear or moose so you pull over too and Grady was a stunner. This is a kid I loved when I saw him but haven't seen enough to feel real confident in my impressions because he doesn't have a huge national reputation, but after ranking him 19 I've gone through my emails and seen an AAU coach from Detroit and a mid-major assistant from an Ohio school both bring him up who are not obviously connected to him so I'm more comfortable believing my eyes on that one now.

13. Matt Carlino is a 6'2 combo guard from Bloomington South, Indiana. He was first team all state as a freshman in Arizona playing in their 5A league for a team which was ranked number one all year and lost in the championship game when Carlino suffered a broken nose and concussion but incredibly came back in the second half to get the team back in it. He is a superb defensive point guard and has impressive intangibles. He might need to dribble a little lower now that he is playing in the midwest, and I have yet to see the kind of shooting out of him that he produced as a freshman (43% from 3). Carlino is committed to Indiana.

14. Zach Price is a 6'9 power forward with good length and athleticism. He is committed to UL, thanks to the gentleman who reminded me in the comments section I thougth I edited this out earlier but it was left speculating about why he'd made so many trips to UL and not committed.vbg

15. Ryan Taylor is a 6'6 forward from Lawrence North HS in Indianapolis. He is in the midst of transitioning from a pure power forward role to a wing forward and after initially thinking he was a power forward I'm starting to see the error in my ways. Last I caught him was at the USSSA Nationals in Ft Wayne and I was very impressed with his handle. Pitino will find a place for him for sure.

16. Jakarr Sampson is a 6'7 forward for St Vincent's St Mary's who already has offers from Xavier, Akron and Dayton to go with interest from most of the Big Ten. Cincinnati was his early favorite. He ended up playing power forward for King James this summer but many consider his best college position the 3. I had a couple of advocates for Sampson insist he's easily in the top 25, so we'll let Mongreltopia speak for now and keep a close eye on his progress. NY2LA has him 14th in the country.

17. Dwann Anderson is a 6'3 kid from Sutton's Bay HS who didn't get as much publicity as some other high profile wings from Michigan but he is the best athlete of his talented in-state peers and has a good three point shot already as well. He led Parallel 45's outstanding 2010 squad last summer and had a few tournaments with Team New Jersey in July. Central Michigan and Dayton had been on him early but he is also being recruited by Michigan, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. In October he was the star of the loaded Styles 3 Elite Showcase in Midland, Michigan and appears to be a prospect exploding onto the scene.

18. Brandon Kearney is a 6'4 wing from Detroit Southeastern who committed to Michigan State. He also has offers from Ohio State (the darkhorse), Michigan, Florida, and others but has been spotted in green a lot the last few weeks. He was excellent for Team Detroit last summer. Photo above is Kearney from Detroit FP picture.

19. Dre Henley is a Chicago area kid you get a lot of polarized responses to. He's a very strong 6'5ish wing with excellent skills but not explosive athleticism so he tends to really impress some people (Hoops Report (Hendrickson) has him 2nd in the state in his class) and not register with others. Henley played for Mac Irvin Fire this summer and had great reviews from Arkansas' elite camp this summer as well.

20. Carlton Brundidge is a 6'1 kid from Southfield, MI who committed to Michigan a few weeks ago. He was good at the Izzo Shootout and has good strength. CB teamed with Amir Williams and company this summer to lead The Family's 2011 AAU team. Brundidge is best known for his three point shooting, and Belein seems to value that as highly as anyone!

21. Justin Gant has long been one of my favorites. He is a 6'8 forward for Terre Haute North who has offers from Iowa and Indiana State among others. Michigan and other Big 10 schools are recruiting him hard as well. He bounced around on 3 different AAU teams last year so you got something different from him depending on the team, but he has very surprising athleticism, works hard in the paint, can handle well for a power forward, has good passing skills, and is an exceptional kid.

22. Tommie McCune is one of the biggest named kids in Michigan. He's a 6'7 power forward who plays with more strength than you expect but not a big time athlete at power forward. His former HS teammate Draymond Green had a great freshman year for MSU and would like to see Tommie join him there, but if MSU gets a 2010 big (Horford/Payne) they may double up on another position instead of go with a 2011 big.

23. Trey Burke is someone I was reminded by two comments and someone else on email is certainly a top 25 player, so in the interactive spirit the readers have spoken. When a kid has that many advocates, its usually for a reason. Now I'll be watching him extra close though...vbg

24. Ryan Boatright is a point guard from Chicago who committed to USC as an 8th grader when they were a hot name in the recruiting world. As often happens when a young talent commits early out of state, in-state observers have left him for dead meanwhile he has been near dominant head to head against some pretty big name Chicago point guards since his decommitment.

25. Tracy Abrams is a 6'0 UI commit and an extremely quick point for Chicago Mt Carmel. He went from the D1E All Stars to the Mac Irvin Fire and had a great summer. Hoops Report has him as the #1 player in Illinois for the class.

26. Mitch McGary is a big strong 6'9 power forward with soft hands. He has been criticized for a lack of focus but the Good Mongrel gives him great marks for focusing when it counts. Other kids who had let academics slip played through July thinking they could just go to a prep school to fix his problems instead of working hard in the class room to catch up and McGary took the other road and opened books when he could've been getting his picture on web sites.

27. Austin Etherington is an Indiana commitment and a kid I have been getting some mean emails for not puting in the top 25 section on my preview so readers you have your way here. I love his three point shot and he has excellent leaping ability at 6'5ish but I worry some about his lateral movement on defense. Granted, the Hamilton Heights wing only returned from micro fracture surgery during the high school season so he might have more room to expand his athleticism.

28. Stevie Taylor is an extremely quick pure leadership point guard from Gahanna Lincoln HS who is tough to rank because he destroys everyone ranked ahead of him but he's only about 5'7 so its hard to project how good he'll be at the next level. He likes Miami and Akron among others.

29. Dee Davis is a tough 5'9 Xavier commit who is a pretty complete combo guard. He is excellent defensively and can guard the point spot and he has a solid three point shot and is best driving to the basket. He'll need to develop his distribution capabilities to be a better point but has excellent intangibles and is a winner who can finish against bigger players.

30. Mike Shaw is a talented 6'7 forward for the Mac Irvin fire from Chicago who has a bright future ahead of him. He gets very mixed reviews and is one of those kids so gifted he got ranked top ten nationally as a freshman but he gets criticized a lot for being on and off. I love his ability but not his production so I'll keep a close eye on him, if he doesn't grow there are a lot of 6'7 kids with ability so he needs to turn it on and show us those great skills consistently.

31. Chane Behanan has already gotten me in trouble for saying he is decommitted so I'll tread lightly here. The former UC commit moved from Cincinnati to Bowling Green and has been visiting schools and receiving offers since then. He was once looked at as a top 25 player in the class by some but seems to be slipping some, hopefully the move works out for him and he gets to prove himself all over again.

32. Nic Moore is an extremely strong athletic 5'8 point guard from Warsaw, Indiana who played summer with Indiana Elite. Moore has a wonderful 3 point shot, excellent leadership skills, and is a pure point with tremendous passing ability. He is being under-recruted right now in part because of the depth at point in Indiana and Illinois in this class.

33. Bruce Barron is a muscular mohawk sporting (at least for a while) rough cob of a point that I first saw this summer for the Illinois Titans. He is a tough kid who plays with passion and has seen his stock skyrocket with his summer performances. Vanderbilt, Purdue, Northern Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, and Notre Dame are interested in Barron.

34. Aaron Thomas is a 6'5 wing from Cincinnati who had a huge summer for the Queen City Prophets. He went to elite camps at Xavier, Michigan, and WVU and is being recruited by OSU, Indiana, Cincinnati, and Akron who has offered.

35. Markus Crider is a wonderful 6'6ish wing prospect from Ohio that played with the 16U SYF Players squad that was featuring some outstanding talent including McGary and Dawson from this same list. Crider can handle and get to the basket some and has potential to be higher up the list but needs to expand his range and become more aggressive on both sides of the ball. A reader was kind enough to remind me of the glaring error in not including him.

36. Vinnie Zollo is a 6'7 Clark County star and former UK commitment who played for Indiana Elite this summer and is being recruited by Notre Dame and other high major schools. This kid has a great attitude, works hard, and has wonderful passing ability mixed with good instincts around the hoop.

37. George Fant is a 6'6 bull of a power forward for Warren Central who had a huge July for the Derek Smith All Stars and has offers from Butler, WKU, Ok St, and Wright State.

38. Remy Abel is a 6'3 guard from Louisville Eastern who can put up buckets in a hurry. Jody Demling has him as the 3rd best player in Kentucky in his class.

39. Chier Ajou is a 7'o kid who came to the US in the AHOPE foundation from Sudan and is going to be playing for George Steinbrenner's favorite prep school, Culver Academy this year. Ajou is raw but has a very long wing span for his size and has a nice perimiter shot. Needs to eat more but is an intriguing prospect.

40. Macari Brooks is a 6'3 big time athlete from Rich South HS who played for the loaded Mac Irvin Fire program. He has offers from Depaul and Northern Illinois and recently made a high profile visit with Shaw and Blackshear to Louisville.

41. Patrick Lucas-Perry is a 5'11 point guard from Flint Powers Catholic who is the focus of a high stakes recruiting battle between Michigan and Michigan State. With Jeremiah Davis recently brought into the MSU recruiting picture saying he will decide before school basketball starts (most likely for MSU or Indiana), don't be surprised if Perry beats him to the punch unless he likes Michigan more.

42. Kendall Griffin is a likely football player according to many, but this Avon (IN) combo guard is surprisingly strong with the ball and an excellent passer in both sports.

43. Jacob Williams is back at Chicago St Patricks and the 6'5 explosive wing guard is being courted by most of the Big Ten. The Illinois Wolves guard might need to show some consistency before getting those offers though.

44. Travaeon Jackson is a Westerville South and All-Ohio Red 2011 star who has offers from Ohio, Akron, Cleveland State, and Miami. He is Jimmy Jackson's son.

45. Tommy Knipp is a 6'7 forward for small school Cinderella story Elliot County who made a run in Kentucky's single class tournament. He can shoot, handle, and pass so he's one to watch.

46. Treg Setty is a 6'8 forward from Mason County (KY) who was a 6'3 guard a year ago so he's drawing lots of attention for his nice outside shot and good ball skills.

47. Hayden Hoerdemann is a 6'3 off guard from Bloomington (IL) Central Catholic who exploded onto the scene this spring with a huge performance in April's Chicago City Classic and was one of the most consistently productive kids on the AAU circiut. Illinois state and Evansville have made him a priority but several B10 schools have kept in close contact.

48. Jalen Packer is a 6'3 point guard from Princeton, Indiana with outstanding athleticism and court awareness. He is being recruited by some of the best mid-major programs in the country including Butler and Southern Illinois, but with some work on the shot can take it up a notch.

49. Spencer Turner is a 6'3 Shooting guard (with a capital S) from Bloomington South HS. He has an offer from IUPUI but is being courted by Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and several others who are watching as this excellent kid works hard to increase his athleticism and add more to his game. But I capitalized Shooting for a reason, he's a stunning shooter.

50. Zach VAn DeWater is a multi-skilled off guard with good size at 6'5. He is getting some strong mid-major and some high major interest. He has a capable outside shot, can put it on the floor and get to the hole, is a willing defender, a solid athlete, and is very well coached. He'll have a big year alongside sophomore sensation point Logan Irwin at Whitko this year.

51. Steve Jamison is a kid who plays the 1,2, and 3 for Broadripple HS in Indianapolis. Jamison is a solid shooter who has great length even at 6'5 and is a very good passer. He'll need to put on weight but is getting mid-major attention and being watched by several high majors as well.

52. Nate Anderson: Teays Valley and All Ohio Red 2011 player has offers from Ohio and Penn State.

(Some of best reader suggestions I couldn't yet include) CJ Bates, Kody Chandler, Trey Barbers, TJ Buchanon,

Honorable Mention: Lots of great players not on the list: Brian Burdine, Ledonte Henton, Jordan Shanklin, Robbie Stenzel, PJ Boutte, George Marshall, Devin Hodges, Travis Trice, Aaron White, Trey Lewis, Percy Gibson, Tony Springmann, Jamie Crockett, Ryan Fucci, Marcellus Barksdale,

Help me with 2011 list!

2009-10-13T17:56:00.002-04:00

OK, the headstrong Mongrel has some pretty strong opinions on quite a few of these 2011 kids that I can back up. But I know you do too, so share them and I'll include your comments. Email me or just put them in the reader comments and I'll try to include most reasonable comments (and even some unreasonable ones if you're entertaining enough!). And remember, in the end I think most of this is debatable and depends less on analyzing these similar kids in the right order and more on their attitude, work ethic, and how well they fit in their chosen college so I'll even let you influence my ratings from time to time.

Lets get started! Here are some I expect to rank highly and I'll add a few state lists from some well known observers in all five of Mongreltopia's states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio). From the 2010 list I predictably had more input from the less populous basketball states of Indiana and Kentucky so speak up football country there is some fine hoops talent in your borders!

Likely Top Ten:
Michael Chandler, Marquis Teague, Cody Zeller, Wayne Blackshear, Brandon Dawson,

Likely top 25:
Sam Thompson, Nana Egwu, Chason Randle (seen above in QC Times photo), James Siakam, Chane Behanan, Jeremiah Davis, Matt Carlino, Ryan Taylor, Zach Price, Amir Williams, Carlton Brundidge, Brandon Kearney,

In the Mix for top 50:
George Fant, Vinnie Zollo, Remy Abel, Jordan Shanklin, Robbie Stenzel, Tommy Knipp, Treg Setty, Kendal Griffin, Justin Gant, Mitch McGary, Zach VanDeWater, Spencer Turner, Tony Springmann, Jalen Packer, Nic Moore, Dee Davis, Austin Etherington, Steven Jamison, PJ Boutte, Chier Ajou, Patrick Lucas Perry, Bruce Barron, Mike Shaw, Dre Henley, Tracy Abrams, Jacob Williams, Ryan Boatright, George Marshall, Macari Brooks, Hayden Horderman, Devin Hodges, Jamie Crockett, Trey Burke, Markus Crider, Anton Grady, Traevon Jackson, Jakkar Sampson, Stevie Taylor, Aaron Thomas, Travis Trice, Aaron White, Nate Anderson, Trey Lewis, Ladonte Henton, Patrick Lucas-Perry, Chris Anderson, Tommy McCune, Percy Gibson, Dwann Anderson, Cody Chandler, CJ Bates

Here are some links to some good Illinois lists. Here is Chicagohoops list... http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/2011rankings.html and here is a list by ESPN puting the kids in order of how they grade them (if graded a 40 they haven't seen enough to offer a grade yet, admitting which is a great strength of scoutsinc imo)... http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/prospects?&state=IL&status=null&toggle=state&pos=null&season=2011&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fprospects%3f%26state%3dIL%26status%3dnull%26toggle%3dstate%26pos%3dnull%26season%3d2011

Here is a nice 2011 list for Indiana from the Indy Star... http://www.indystar.com/section/SPORTS0615 and here's another bulky espn link... http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/prospects?&pos=null&status=null&toggle=state&season=2011&state=IN&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fprospects%3f%26pos%3dnull%26status%3dnull%26toggle%3dstate%26season%3d2011%26state%3dIN

Here's a link to Jody Demling's top ten for Kentucky... http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2008/12/class-of-2011-rankings.html and here's the mega-espn link... http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/prospects?&pos=null&status=null&toggle=state&season=2011&state=KY&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fprospects%3f%26pos%3dnull%26status%3dnull%26toggle%3dstate%26season%3d2011%26state%3dKY

Here's a list of the 27 kids from Ohio Rivals has taken notice of... http://rivals.yahoo.com/indiana/basketball/recruiting/recruit-search-results and the espn list... http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/prospects?&pos=null&status=null&toggle=state&season=2011&state=OH&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fprospects%3f%26pos%3dnull%26status%3dnull%26toggle%3dstate%26season%3d2011%26state%3dOH

Bankhoops is always a good place to start with Michigan hoops, the link has all of their classes on same page by position. http://bankhoops.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=19&Itemid=70 and here is the ESPN list... http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/prospects?&pos=null&status=null&toggle=state&season=2011&state=MI&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fprospects%3f%26pos%3dnull%26status%3dnull%26toggle%3dstate%26season%3d2011%26state%3dMI

Let me know who I forgot, Illinois and Indiana are loaded to the gills in this class so I hope to get a few "what in the heck were you thinking leaving out so and so... " posts.

2010 Mongreltopia Top 50

2009-10-11T09:33:00.026-04:00

1. Deshawn Thomas - OSU commit from Ft Wayne, IN will likely finish his career as Indiana's highest scorer in state history. 6'8 forward is a bit of a tweener in college but more ideally suited as an NBA 3. He is the best player I've seen nationally in the class, but didn't see him playing with the kind of passion I'm used to this last summer in AAU. He's been committed for a long time and has proven his passion in more meaningful games though. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #8, ESPN #13,

2. Jared Sullinger - OSU commit and Ohio native Sullinger has outplayed every big man he's come up against. He's the quintessential winner, and shows leadership from the power forward spot, not as flashy as some other top big kids but strong, smart and consistent. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #1, ESPN #2,

3. Keith Appling - MSU commit and Michigan native gets the the hoop with ease and will be a big time scorer in college. I want to see a little more point out of him to be a better pro prospect and maybe a little more defensive acumen but he's quick and always attacking. National Rankings: ESPN #36,

4. Adreian Payne* - Michigan State commitment is a pretty strong 6'9 kid with great length and athleticism. He's a long power forward from Ohio and is not as consistent as Sullinger but shows more upside. National Rankings; Hoopscoop #100, ESPN #24,

5. Ray McCallum Jr - I saw a lot more of him when he was younger but was reminded this summer just how savvy the kid is. He's athletic enough to be a pro but he plays with the kind of coach's-son heady nature that he'd make it if he had a prosthetic foot. He's a bit of a combo guard and is considering Detroit, UCLA, and a few other schools. National Rankings: ESPN #37,

6. Trey Zeigler - Zeigler is also the son of a mid major coach and like McCallum is considering UCLA, Michigan, and a few other schools. Zeigler has a natural fit at the 2 and is a deadly outside shooter with some strength to finish inside. National Rankings: ESPN #27,

7. Myers Leonard - This Robinson HS (IL) star and Illinois commit is a very athletic 6'11. He plays with some inconsistency still but is versatile while still having the frame to get it done on the low blocks. He'll continue to fill out and bulk up and have a huge career for Bruce Weber. National Rankings: ESPN #53,

8. Jerome Richmond - UI commit was very inconsistent as his loaded Mac Irvin Fire team leaned more heavily on other guards quite often in July. But Richmond is a big time athlete and has the kind of tangibles that are significant even when the intangibles aren't quite as far along. National Rankings: ESPN #18,

9. Terone Johnson - Purdue commit is the best guard in Indiana in his class. He's only about 6'2 and I was once worried he would be between positions in college but his good 3 point shot has become outstanding and his effort on the defensive side is almost college ready right now. The North Central product plays with the strength of a bull much like former NC alum Eric Gordon but lacks the kind of explosion Gordon had. He'll be a good 2 guard in the big ten. National Rankings: ESPN #116,

10. Cameron Wright* - 6'3 Cleveland Benedictine star and Pittsburgh commitment was once committed to Ohio State, but he got the cold shoulder from Matta in the year he sat out recovering from an injury so he opened it up and found himself pursued by Michigan State, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Pittsburgh. The Cleveland product made a huge splash in July as his explosion has finally returned and looked a lot better than the other guards still committed to OSU. He's a shooting guard with the quickness to guard the 1 or 2. Edit to add that Anonymous in the comments added " I like the fact that you have Cameron Wright at #10 he deserves it. hard working on both ends of the floor and one of the quickest first steps I've seen in a while. very good midrange shooter. at 6-5 210 has the ability to guard and play the 1-3 positions. PITT really has a unique player that will just keep getting better and better. YOUR LOSS OHIO STATE!" National Rankings: Hoopscoop #131, ESPN #112,

11. Crishawn Hopkins is a 6'0 Butler commit who moved up from 14 to 11 on the back of some Mongrel readers getting threatening. Anonymous makes a good point saying they are both freakishly athletic (comparing Hopkins to Smith) but Hopkins is a better point but I think some people underestimate how much point Reggie has. I have to give Hopkins seperation over Smith because his outside shot is awesome too. Hopkins plays high school for Manual (Indianapolis).

12. Reggie Smith Mac Irvin point is great athlete with some pg skills (seen above in ST shot).
13. Travis Carrol Danville HS (IN) star is a Purdue commitment that is fundamentally sound and tough. He's a 6'8 power forward that works hard. National Rankings: ESPN #122,
14. Jesse Berry high flying Dayton commit is sensational scorer, explosive personality. He's a 6'2 star from Laffayette (IN) who scored over 45 six seperate times last year. National Rankings: ESPN #173,
15. Ge'lawn Guyn is a 6'2 point for Scott County who has long arms and wonderful athleticism and is looking at some impressive schools after re-opening his recruitment (read my reader comments he has a legion of fans making some really good arguments so I gave him a big jump from 24 to 15). National Rankings: ESPN #166,
16. Juwan Staten is a standout guard from Dayton who committed to Dayton. National Rankings; Hoopscoop #109
17. Josh Sewell Miami commit is athletic off guard with good ball skills.
18. Russell Byrd Michigan State commit is a sensational shooter for Ft Wayne Blackhawk at 6'6 but skinny. National Rankings: ESPN #58,
19. Curtis Washington 6'10 forward is a long, athletic late developer committed to USC. * Had to edit to add some reader input, anonymous says "He's not even the fifth best player on his own AAU team." and I had another suggest Rick Bolus and I were the only ones who liked him. Well, just to remind my readers about late blooming big men its for a reason he's the only high major commitment in KY from 2010. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #130,
20. Justin Martin Xavier commit is a 6'7 forward with great range can play inside and out. He was an outstanding defender for Lawrence North High School (Indianapolis) as well. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #122
21. Lenzelle Smith is an Ohio State commit. He is also a combo guard for Zion-Benton Township High who gets by with strength, guile more than quickness. National Rankings: ESPN #78,
22. Ahmad Starks is commited to play for Oregon State next year. He was an excellent floor leader for the Warriors and Fire over the summer. He's a 5'8 point for state champ Whitney Young (Chicago). National Rankings: ESPN #170,
23. Griffin McKenzie 6'9 Xavier commit is a big man from Cincinnati who can stroke the 3. He missed almost a year with a broken back but came up big in July. Ask him about his phone bill. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #163
24. Jon Horford* 6'9 forward prospect from Gran Ledge (MI) is the younger brother of former Florida star Al. National Rankings: ESPN #115,
25. Brandon Spearman is a 6'3 shooting guard for Simeon (Chicago) who is a Dayton commit. National Rankings: ESPN #152,
26. JD Weatherspoon is a 6'6 kid who played for All-Ohio Red in the summer. He is committed to the Buckeyes after initially committing to Xavier. He's also an athletic wing who is from Northland HS (OH). National Ranking: Hoopscoop #146, ESPN #169,
27. Ricardo Johnson Ohio commit is a winner, cut down the nets in KY state tournament for Covington Holmes. He made waves shutting people down, scoring, rebounding, and with leadership last year in the tournament. Thanks to reader who corrected me I thought I remembered Johnson verballing to Miami. National Rankings: ESPN #185,
28. Levonte Dority* Chicago Foreman point is big time 6'2 scoring pg with nice three point shot. He is going to play in the Big East for Stan Heath's South Florida squad. National Rankings: ESPN #198,
29. Aaron Craft former Tennessee commit now with Ohio State as long awaited point. He's 6'2 and plays for Liberty Benton HS (OH). National Rankings: Hoopscoop #129, ESPN #124,
30. Anthony Johnson Purdue commit is fine off guard for state champ Chicago Whitney Young. His ranking is a bit guesswork as he was an obviously talented prospect and got hurt at the wrong time to make a splash with the rankings.
31. Ben Brust Iowa commitment is one of the best shooters in his class.
32. Jordan Sibert* This 6'4 wing played for All-Ohio Red in the summer and Princeton HS (OH) for school. He is an Ohio State commit coming off an injury. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #50, ESPN #72,
33. Ethan Jacobs 6'11 Ohio commit has put on a lot of strength last year making strides. He was rail thin in school last year for Tipton (IN) but was clearly stronger in the summer.
34. Khristian Smith is a nice 6'5 athlete with good size on the wing is a late blooming kid for Pike. He played summer with the Spiece Indy Heat squad that sported several four and five star kids and looked like he belonged with them in July.
35. Roy Marble Jr* Iowa commit and 6'4 wing is son of former Hawkeye star.
36. Chad Jackson is a 6'4 point guard for Scott County (KY) with nice size plays upright and plays well off the ball.
37. Rayvonte Rice led his Rising Stars teams to some big time finishes in July.
38. Dre McCamey* Baby brother of Illinois star Mike is fine point in his own right.
39. Alex Guana is a 6'8 Michigan State commitment from Eaton Rapids (MI). He has great length, good shot blocking instincts but can be stiff. National Rankings: ESPN #188,
40. Xavier Jones emotional defensive minded point guard can attack the rim. He's a tough kid might need to work on the outside shot a little but can hit it. Transfered from Gary, Indiana to Wayne HS in Ohio for his senior year. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #119, ESPN #110,
41. Eric Fromm Butler commit is versatile 6'7 forward who can put the ball on the floor.
42. Nick Kellog youngest son of Clark is nice shooting wing guard.
43. Alex Dragecevich* Notre Dame commit is sweet shooting 6'6 wing.
44. Crandal Head is a Rich South (IL) star and Illinois commit. He is younger brother of Luther and fine scorer. National Rankings: ESPN #75,
45. Duje Dukan is a 6'8 sweet shooting forward who played with Dority on Chicgao Elite. He committed to Bo Ryan's Wisconsin program where he seems like a great fit. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page24.html
46. Kennis White is a 6'2 WMU wing talent with big time athleticism and leadership skills.
47. Walter Pitchford* is a 6'9 power forward committed to Depaul from Team Detroit.
48. Jordan Manual is a 6'8 skinny forward from Indianapolis with a sweet three point shot.
49. Mike McCall* Chicago Foreman guard is selfless point guard.
50. Jordan Threloff* 6'9 strong forward anchored Rising Stars last July.
50. Elijah Pittman is a 6'7 forward and jumping jack for Kentucky state champs. He has outstanding talent but might be heading for juco as he's behind academically. National Rankings: ESPN #199,
50. Eric Gaines 6'3 Kent State commit has good balance, athleticism, and works baseline well.
50. Donnie Hale is a 6'7 forward from New Albany, Indiana who is committed to Purdue. He's a traditional post up and has outstanding reach and shot blocking ability but will need to learn to guard laterally and be quicker with his developing outside shot in college. National Rankings: Hoopscoop #39, ESPN #149,
50. Dakotah Euton is a 6'8 forward for Scott County, Kentucky who had originally been committed to UK under Billy Gillespie but wound up committing to Akron after the coaching change. Euton is a strong forward with good passing ability.

Honorable Mention:

Julian Boatner,
Ian Chiles,
Brian Fabrizius,
Donovan Gibbs,
Kevin Gray is a 6'3 guard from Reynoldsburg HS (OH) who was once Hoopscoop top ranked 7th grader. He signed an LOI with Morehead St. http://buckeyeprep.blogspot.com/2009/11/kevin-gray-signs-national-letter-of.html
Andre Hampton,
Jay Harris is a 6'0 pg from Oswego East (IL). National Rankings: ESPN #69,
Jon Harris,
Michael Harris,
Ralph Hill,
Juann Howard,
PJ Hubert,
Jack Isenberger,
Phillip Jackson,
John Michael Jarvis,
Garon Johnson is an outstanding wing from Dayton. Hoopscoop #139, ,
Maurice Jones is a 5'7 point for Arthur Hill HS (MI) who is committed to USC. National Rankings: ESPN #134,
Elisha Justice,
Matt Kaminiecki,
Jake Kitchel,
Kenny Knight,
Karl Madison,
Enique Mason,
Devin Oliver,
Allen Payne is an outstanding 6'6 wing from Winton Woods HS (Cincinnati) who committed to Auburn. http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/11/auburn-picks-up-payne/ National Rankings: ESPN #193, Hoopscoop #178,
Corey Petros,
Quinten Rollins,
Ronald Ross,
Alex Rossi is a 6'5 guard from New Trier (IL). National Rankings: ESPN #117,
Storm Stanley,
Isiahh Sykes,
Colin Voss,
Nate VanArendonk

Let me know what you think, I'll include your comments on whomever you advocate for weather or not I move the rankings for the player in question. I think a lot of these players are close calls, the difference in most of these players is less their own potential and more the work ethic and attitude since they are so close in terms of talent. I'll be getting to work on 2011 this week also.

Time for the 18th annual Mongreltopia Top 50 Lists!

2009-10-10T10:02:00.003-04:00

Ok, so there has not been 18 years of Mongrel hoops knowledge and Mongreltopia has not yet seceded from the union and established itself as the world's premier Hoops factory... but it sounds better than just proclaiming I'm going to try to do top 50 lists from the five states I try to follow. Usually bloggers and recruitnik's are wise enough to present finished products, but I get enough input from several readers that I'm going to do things a little bit differently with permission. I'll start with the obvious and add a layer of probables in an abbreviated list and we'll come up with a finished product after I get some input so I can hopefully include some reader comments.

The humble Mongrel can offer two things that make this list higher quality than what you typically see. First, I know how hit and miss recruiting is for the true expert (coaches), let alone the analysts who have less experience and know less about puting teams together, so I'm going to be respectful of criticism and try to learn from it if possible. And second, I'm going to tell you what I'm listing. Some analysts rank the kids they think will be the best two years into their college career, some lean heavily on pro potential, some worship athleticism and some over-emphasize potential etc. I'm just going to guess who would be the most useful college prospect. If I think a kid is almost certain to go pro after a year (John Wall), then I'd prefer a similarly talented kid who is more likely to play longer in my opinion. And that is guesswork, so send me the criticism and I'll work with you. I'll even put a star on kids that I've seen less of than the rest so as to admit more guesswork than I'd prefer (pretending to have seen all prospects plenty of times is a common bugaboo to the genre).

Without further ado (and the good Mongrel is a notorious adoer...) the top 50 college prospects in Mongreltopia (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio) are...

1. Deshawn Thomas (seen above in Indy Star shot)

2. Jared Sullinger

3-10ish... Adreian Payne, Ray McCallam Jr, Trey Zeigler, Myers Leonard, Keith Appling,

11-20ish... Terone Johnson, Jerome Richmond, Cameron Wright,

Others being strongly considered... Travis Carrol, Jesse Berry, Russell Byrd, Crishawn Hopkins, Reggie Smith, Levonte Dority, Xavier Jones, Justin Martin, Nick Kellog, Walter Pitchford, Donnie Hale, Khristian Smith, Jake Kitchell, Enique Mason, Ben Brust, Alex Dragecevich, Eric Gaines, Jay Harris, Crandall Head, Phillip Jackson, Anthony Johnson, Karl Madison, Dre McCamey, Mike McCall, Rayvonte Rice, Alex Rossi, Lenzelle Smith, Brandon Spearman, Ahmad Starks, Jordan Threloff, Julian Boatner, Erik Fromm, Andre Hampton, Michael Harris, PJ Hubert, Jack Isenbarger, Ethan Jacobs, John Michael Jarvis, Jordan Manual, Ronald Ross, Kennis White, Ian Chiles, Dakotah Euton, Donovan Gibbs, Ge'lawn Guyn, Chad Jackson, Ricardo Johnson, Elisha Justice, Elijah Pittman, Josh Sewell, Curtis Washington, Alex Guana, Jon Horford, Juwan Howard, Maurice Jones, Matt Kaminiecki, Patrick Lucas Perry, Roy Marble Jr, Devin Oliver, Corey Petros, Isiahh Sykes, Aaron Craft, Jon Harris, Ralph Hill, Geron Johnson, Kenny Knight, Griffin McKenzie, Allen Payne, Quintin Rollins, Jordan Sibert, Storm Stanley, JD Weatherspoon

Now's your chance, did I leave someone out? Suggestions? Make a good argument, I'll just list 50!

Full Package Exposure League, Reynolds commits to Rice, other updates...

2009-09-28T22:54:00.008-04:00

Illinois high school basketball fans have several great outlets to follow hoops on the web. The good Mongrel has linked Chicagohoops, Illinoisprepbullseye, Midstate Hoops, the Hoops Report blog (Hendrickson), and lots of stuff from the Sun-Times and elsewhere. However, Illinoishsbasketball.com has been coming up with some great interview clips and cranking out quality content. This recap from the Full Package Exposure League is jammed full of great stuff. http://illinoishsbasketball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1018&Itemid=130 Some of the many updates include...

* Brian Fabrizius had an extremely impressive performance. I've received a couple of emails asking about his recruiting progress and searched without coming up with much. I sent out some inquiries but haven't heard anything and the good Mongrel isn't exactly quick to call kids for questions about their recruiting without being all but invited to do so. Sorry readers, I know most of the kids like the attention but I'm not a real media member so it isn't the good Mongrel's bag in this current incarnation... However, this article catches us up with Fabrizius and mentions he's seven feet tall, runs the floor well, shoots "like a wing", and has great shot blocking instincts and is twenty pounds from being a sure fire high major kid. I still don't know who is involved but it sounds like he doesn't have many offers and is a senior so hopefully he has a good year. There are some impressive clips in their link as well. Photo on the right is from the previously linked article.
* The "Emphatic Egyptian" Abdul Nader is profiled, he has Oregon State's attention and they seem to think he's got some big time potential.
* Marin Kukoc had some big games and gets profiled really well also. He'll be a senior for Highland Park HS and should be one to watch.
* Levonte Dority, Keith Carter, and many others are profiled in depth. Its a good read!

Winchester, Kentucky big man Vinnie Zollo was rumored recently to have committed to Notre Dame. This NBE blog report confirms he had a great visit with Notre Dame but claims he has not committed and is still "wide open". http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/09/28/class-of-2011-intro-vinny-zollo/ The thorough Mongrel has seen Zollo a few times and he's a really impressive player. He gives full effort all the time, is a good passer for a big kid, and seems to be pretty solid on offense with decent range. I think he's probably 6'7 instead of the 6'8 or 6'9 you see listed, so a couple of inches could really help him because though he is a decent athlete he doesn't have the lateral game on either side of the ball to be a "3" in college. He still has two years left of high school, it will be fun to see how good this talented and likable kid can be if he keeps working at it.

Jody Demling is reporting that another former UK commitment, senior Dakota Euton is close to committing between Eastern Kentucky and Akron. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/09/dakotah-euton-to-pick-school.html

6'5 Chicago Whitney Young wing forward JR Reynolds has committed to play for Rice. Conference USA is loaded with talented coaches who are quietly compiling some quality recruits the last two or three years. Memphis won't be alone at the top for long in the not quite humble enough opinion of the Mongrel. Chicagohoops has the goods on Reynolds. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/reynoldsrice.html

Guyn recruitment heats up, Kamieniecki winding down, other updates...

2009-09-26T22:54:00.019-04:00

Mongrel favorite Ge'Lawn Guyn (pictured here from an Examiner.com article) has decommitted from Charlotte and has heard from Northwestern, Indiana, Georgia Tech, and Mississippi State already. The article also mentions Chane Behanan has a new offer from Oklahoma State and Daryl Hicks visited Behanan's former school of choice University of Cincinnati this weekend. Here's the link... http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9504-Louisville-High-School-Sports-Examiner~y2009m9d26-News-and-Notes

Devontes Smith-Rivera is visiting Purdue this weekend.

Jake Kitchell has committed to Indiana State, he also had an offer from Oregon State and had been one of the most productive kids in Indiana in his class as well as a standout on the SYF Players AAU team this summer.

According to Jeff Goodman, one of the country's top seniors has cut his list to seven. Tobias Harris has included Kentucky and Louisville in his final seven and will do officials at both schools.

Wisconsin landed Port Washington shooting guard John Gasser. It'll be interesting to see how his college career works out compared to Vander Blue who withdrew his commitment from Wisconsin this spring. Blue is a much higher ranked prospect but he is not more productive than Gasser who had an enormous summer. As usual, the good Mongrel will predict that Bo knows best.

Brandon Kearney is visiting Kentucky this weekend along with fellow Detroit star Percy Gibson. Marc Maggard has a nice breakdown of each in this blog entry. http://www.truebluekentucky.com/index.php/basketball/926-guest-basketball/1990-two-qmystery-visitorsq-will-be-at-uk-today.html

Rick Bolus has been releasing his scouting reports the last several days.
* According to Bolus, the top twelve seniors in Indiana are Deshawn Thomas, Jordan Manual, Xavier Jones, Russell Byrd, Terone Johnson, Travis Carrol, Donnie Hale, Jesse Berry, Eric Fromm, Jake Kitchell, Khristian Smith, and Kennis White.
* According to Bolus the top twelve underclassmen in Indiana are Marquis Teague, Matt Carlino, Ryan Taylor, Jeremiah Davis, Michael Chandler, Cody Zeller, Justin Gant, Dee Davis, Rafael Davis, Kendal Griffin, Evan Blackmon, and PJ Boutte.
* Bolus says the top twelve seniors in Kentucky are Curtis Washington, Ricardo Johnson, Elijah Pittman, Chad Jackson, Ge'lawn Guyn, Donovan Gibbs, Elijah Justice, Josh Sewell, Aaron Watts, Dakota Euton, Matt St John, and Jomari Bradshaw.
* Bolus says the best underclassmen in Kentucky are Chane Behanan, George Fant, Jaylen Beckham, Vinnie Zollo, Remy Abel, Desmond Dorsey, Robbie Stenzel, Trey Williams, Jordan Shanklin, Josh Stroud, and Josh Forrest.

Several Ohio updates from Ohio/National Preps Scouting Service on their twitter account http://twitter.com/ONPSS. If you follow Ohio hoops you have to check this guy out, he's always cranking out non-stop hoops lore from Ohio and around the country. Here's a sample from the last few days only.
* Clarkston, Michigan forward Matt Kamieniecki is deciding between Ball St and Western Michigan this weekend.
* Peebles, Ohio junior Blake Justice is a 6'2 guard received an offer from Akron after a Wednesday visit. Akron also offered 6'7 sophomore Eric Troug from Kenton, Ohio.
* Ranks top 10 unsigned Ohio kids as 1) Adriean Payne, 2) Nick Kellog, 3) Garon Johnson, 4) Allen Payne, 5) Antone Hutchins, 6) Kennis White (South Bend, IN transfer), 7) Nick Harney, 8) Storm Sanders, 9) Angelo Gonzalez, 10) Kevin Gray
* Will Sheeley from Florida is visiting Northwestern this weekend.
* Strongville, OH junior Aaron White is a 6'7 forward who visited Butler this weekend. Butler, West Virginia, and Penn State visited last week among other schools.
* Akron St V/St M junior Jakar Sampson, Alpharetta, GA junior Shannon Scott, Indianapolis Broad Ripple sophomore Ron Patterson, and Indianapolis sophomore Jeremy Hollowell, and Merrillville, IN sophomore Dejuan Marrero are visiting Ohio State this weekend for the Illini game.
* Dayton, OH senior Adriean Payne is on an official visit to UK this weekend.
* Cincinnati, OH senior Allen Payne is visiting VCU this weekend.
* Dayton, Oakland, and Kansas State all visited Grand Ledge HS to see Jon Horford Friday.
* Westerville, OH junior Traevon Jackson has offers from Miami, Akron, Cleveland State, and Ohio.
* Trey Burke is a junior from Northland, OH with offers from Butler, Ohio, Miami, and James Madison.
* Dublin, OH sophomore Kyle Molock has offers from Akron, Florida International, Georgia State, Ohio, and St Joes.
* 6'2 senior shooting guard and South Bend transplant Kennis White has offers from Drake, Bradley, and Indiana State.
* 6'4 senior Matt Vest from Dayton, OH committed to Wright State last week.

Las Vegas senior Moses Morgan committed to Depaul last week. Morgan is a high scoring 6'5 wing guard who considered Indiana, Utah, Oklahoma, and UNLV among others. http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/2009/09/depaul_lands_a_good_one.html

Chicago Foreman point guard Levonte Dority hosted visits from New Mexico's Steve Alford and South Florida's Stan Heath last week. He is expected to choose between those two programs and Baylor soon. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/dorityusf.html

Dority's Foreman teammate Eddie Denard committed to UI-Chicago. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page30.html Denard is a 6'5 wing.

Illinois Prep Bullseye has several updates in this link http://ilprepbullseye.com/page43.html , including...
* Justin Threloff is visiting Western Michigan this weekend and is expected to decide between WMU, Drake, Illinois State, and Northern Illinois after the visit.
* Levonte Dority and former UNLV and Valpo center Beas Hamga are taking official visits to New Mexico this weekend.
* Jarod Oldham is visiting Southern Methodist this weekend and has offers from SMU, Bradley, Indiana State, Eastern Illinois, and Buffalo.
* Kourtney Darby visited Bradley this weekend.
* Jacob Williams has offers from Bradley, Xavier, Southern Illinois, and Loyola.
* Chason Randle is visiting Iowa State again this weekend. I continue to hear the Cyclones and Purdue are strongest here but Ohio State made a huge impression and is closing fast.

Visit Updates.

2009-09-14T10:37:00.005-04:00

Justin Gant is a 6'8 forward from Terre Haute North who the good Mongrel is really high on. Gant has range, has a little bit of a handle, and really is comfortable battling underneath. He plays with Plumlee and Zeller for Indiana Elite Orange in the summers, so he gets overshadowed sometimes but Gant is a solid high major prospect in his own right. He was at Michigan for the big victory over Notre Dame on the gridiron this weekend. Gant is setting up a visit to Wisconsin as well. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/09/gant-visits-mic.html

Notre Dame and Indiana just received commitments from Dematha, Maryland stars last week but both are working hard to add an even better player from the same school to their 2011 class. Over the weekend Quinn Cook was one of the many stars at Ohio State's close loss to USC. Cook says he and Bradley Beal were getting pressured by OSU's 2010 kids to commit but he didn't give in. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/09/14/qa-with-quinn-cook-on-osu-visit-recruiting/

Medina, Ohio sophomore Ken Kaminski has received offers from Michigan State and Indiana per seperate twitters from ONPSS and Highmajorscoop.

Alex Foster is one of the biggest names in the 2013 class. The 6'7 power forward from Chicago just received an offer from Matt Painter at Purdue. Foster is one of the few kids in the country special enough to have multiple high major offers as Illinois and Purdue have offered him before he ever plays a game in high school. Ohio State and Indiana have also recruited him heavily this summer.
http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/afoster1.html

Rock Island point guard Chason Randle is fresh off his visit to Ohio State on a big football weekend. He appears to be ready to schedule a couple of more big football weekend visits. Randle will be at Purdue for the Notre Dame football game and plans on visiting Illinois for their home game against Michigan. I'm still hearing Purdue is in good shape with Randle. Here's a link on Randle's recruitment. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page40.html

Jody Demling has an update on some weekend visits for Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/09/weekend-visits-update.html Nothing new in there, the upcoming UK visit next weekend from Brandon Knight and Stacey Poole will be huge for the Wildcats. Knight is hosting Duke today for an in-home.

The poor confused Mongrel has been trying to keep up with the stunning amount of transfers happening across the country. Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana especially have had so many transfers the last few months that I still don't know who is where. This excellent LA Times article makes us feel a little better since now we know everyone is in the same boat. Transfers are a touchy issue. You want to be in it for the kids, so its annoying to hear coaches whine about it when they play the same game and pilch each others players whenever they have a chance. Of course those coaches then all say its all about the kids. Parents should be able to do what is best for their kids, and kids who move shouldn't be subject to sitting out a year to protect the bureaucratic interest of state high school athletics boards. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-sondheimer15-2009sep15,0,141588,full.column

More commitments!

2009-09-10T23:00:00.019-04:00

The recruiting period is heating up quickly with in-home visits. Covington Holmes senior Ricardo Johnson was the MVP of the Sweet 16 in Kentucky and has committed to former Buckeye assistant John Groce and his Ohio program. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/09/swete-16-mvp-makes-his-pick.html The photo on the right shows him from a Courier Journal photo (believe from Demling's blog).

Champaign Centennial had the luxury of seeing two of its stars commit to outstanding mid-major programs. Senior guard Rayvonte Rice has committed to Drake. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/rayvontedrake.html Meanwhile Eastern Kentucky has secured a commitment from Jeff Johnson, a 6'8 forward who has excellent footwork and is solid shooting the ball, I got to see him this summer for the Peoria Irish 17U squad and he was really impressive. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/johnsoneku.html

Kentucky head coach John Calipari did in-home visits with Doron Lamb, Kyrie Irving, and Tobias Harris in just one busy day this week doing in-home visits. This Zagsblog article has updates on several of Calipari's targets including Doron Lamb who they visited with tonight. The article also mentions Indiana coach Tom Crean was at Mountain State Academy to see Turkish star Enes Katner and Obij Ajet, a seven foot sophomore prospect who played with Indiana Elite Team Indiana this summer. http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/09/10/contact-period-opens-amid-recruiting-frenzy/ Ajet is an outstanding shot blocker but is very skinny which currently limits his effectiveness against some players who play with some strength underneath. But he's a wonderful athlete with unbelievable reach and he also has a very nice jump shot out to 18 feet.

Chane Behannan and George Fant did unofficials with WKU this week. http://nationalhoopsreport.blogspot.com/2009/09/fastbreak-friday-sept-11.html

Chicago Foreman star point guard Levonte Dority has cut his list to three schools. Baylor, New Mexico, and South Florida are all still in the running for the high scoring point. He was considering Marquette, Indiana, and several other schools before cutting down his list. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page9.html

As the above link to nationalhoopsreport.blogspot.com indicates, Thad Matta is hosting quite a collection of talent this weekend for the USC football game at the Horseshoe. The Buckeyes will host their top ranked 2010 recruiting class along with 2011 stars Quinn Cook, Bradley Beal, Cody Zeller, Chason Randle, Amir Williams, and several other key recruits along with star alums Greg Oden and Mike Conley. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/09/11/quinn-cook-on-ohio-state-visit-this-weekend/

Indiana State appears close to landing a commitment from Jake Kitchell. The link has Kitchell saying he played "ok" this summer. Its a very poignant comment imo. This is a kid who led the state of Indiana in blocked shots and put up huge numbers in scoring and rebounding. Sure a 2A schedule can give a good player a chance to pad his stats but the kid wasn't just productive he was phenomenally productive. So when I first had a chance to see him this summer I expected to see the kind of skill that is required to put up such incredible numbers but he was playing with the SYF Players. They were absolutely loaded with stars such as Jesse Berry, Xavier Jones, and bigs like Dominique Ferguson, Enique Mason, and Kitchell. Kitchell was solid on the boards, played solid defense, and was among the most vocal leaders on the floor I'd seen for a big man on the summer circuit. But he didn't try to shoot much either time I got a chance to see him. He would get a rebound, and try to initiate offense on the break, communicate well with his teammates and play unselfishly. These were not qualities I expected to see out of a kid who was among the state leaders in points, rebounds, and blocked shots. If that skill is there which you have to almost assume when a kid puts up numbers, then he could be a special player with his unselfishness and leadership. I wish I'd seen enough of him to weigh in on how productive he can be against good competition, but he's got everything else and has been so productive its tempting to give him the benefit of the doubt. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090911/SPORTS0615/909110356

The above link to the outstanding Indy Star article also has updates on Bowman Academy's sophomore sensation Dujuan Marrero as well as his less heralded senior teammate Tyrae Robinson. Marrero has offers from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue, and Valparaiso. He's a 6'5 rebounding and defensive machine with a non stop motor and worth the price of admission himself. Robinson is a 6'1 guard with offers from Ball State and Dane Fife's IPFW program. Christopher Bond is a 6'4 forward for Bowman with an offer from SIU Edwardsville.

The Indy Star article also mentioned Pike senior Khristian Smith wants to decide before his senior season. So far he has offers from Drake, Evansville, Morehead State, Indiana State, and Ron Hunter's IUPUI program. Smith has the size and athleticism of a high major prospect, and he is a versatile player who looks the part of a big time player for a mid-major program imo. He played very well leading Pike to a team camp victory at Purdue this summer without the help of Marquis Teague. He also looked very good in summer play alongside Teague, Deshawn Thomas, and company. He has several wonderful college options now which may be the best fit for him, but he's the type of athlete and talent that you find among the seniors who have breakout seasons and get high major attention in the spring if he chose to ride out the process and pursue that option. Smith will be visiting Eastern Illinois this weekend.

MILive.com has another great update courtesy of Stephen Bell. Bell has some good stuff on Kalamazoo Central's 6'6 forward Darius Norman. Bell says Norman was making big plays last year but might be ready to be consistent this year. http://blog.mlive.com/highschoolbasketball/

Shiningstarsports.com has updates on many of their players. Tregg Setty and Jordan Gilbert of Mason County hosted Wright State, Vanderbilt, and Miami at an open gym. http://shiningstarsports.blogspot.com/2009/09/recruiting-update-gilbert-and-setty.html

Zach Price, Karl Madison, Cole Darling off the boards, more updates.

2009-09-09T08:18:00.015-04:00

Rick Pitino appears to be on the cusp of landing one of his best recruiting classes in years with the 2011 class. Indianapolis Lawrence North stars Michael Chandler and Ryan Taylor are quite a recruiting class by themselves, but this week Pitino added another big kid in the class when Lakewood St Edwards big man Zach Price committed to Louisville on his third visit http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/09/pitino-finds-the-price-he-likes/. St Edwards has been on quite a roll producing big men recently with Price joining recent Big Ten power forwards Delvin Roe and Tom Pritchard as products from the school. In Louisville's recruiting class, Taylor is more of a small forward (I got to see how much progress he was making at that at the USSSA Nationals in July), Chandler is a true center with skills that should put him in the McDonalds All American game if he has the fire to take over games, and Zach Price is slated to be more of a power forward. Pitino is expected to have an excellent chance to add Marquis Teague at point, Wayne Blackshear at shooting guard, and perhaps even Mike Shaw at small forward in the coming days.

Springfield Laphier's Karl Madison has committed to play for Drake University. According to Brian Stinnete Drake is visiting Champaign Central's Rayvonte Rice on the first day of the contact period. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/brianstinnette603.html Madison is seen in his St Louis Eagles uniform in this scout.com photo.

Brad Brownell has landed one of the top players from the state of Michigan to add to his class of 2010. Holt HS's Cole Darling has pulled the trigger for the Wright State Raiders. http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/school?schoolId=2750&page=briefingroom&season=2010&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fschool%3fschoolId%3d2750%26page%3dbriefingroom%26season%3d2010

According to the above Chicagohoops link, Eastern Illinois is hosting some important visitors in the coming days as well. Jared Oldham, Ben Brackney, and jucos Lazeric Jones and Al Rapier are expected to have visits with Eastern Illinois staff. The article also mentions Chicago Hales Franciscan senior Patrick Miller had a good visit to Tennessee State this last weekend.

Macari Brooks was on campus at Louisville over the weekend and has updated his recruiting list. He says Louisville, Depaul, Xavier, and Southern Illinois are among the many schools involved. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/macaribrooks2.html

Hoosierhoopsreport.com has an outstanding update on some underclassmen in Indiana expecting important visitors now that the contact period is opening. The article discusses the thin pickings left in Indiana's 2010 class after the massive prep school defections throughout the state and puts a focus on some D1 prospects from the younger classes that might benefit from the exposure of having big crowds there looking at higher profile teammates. http://hoosierhoopsreport.com/2009/09/08/let-the-visits-begin/

Ray MacCallum Jr has a top seven which includes his dad's squad Detroit. http://blog.northstarbball.com/2009/09/09/justin-coleman-tarik-black-and-ray-mccallum-on-where-they-stand.aspx Ray Jr is a treat to watch, he's a very heady player with good athleticism and skill. He'll be a star wherever he goes. The link also updates Justin Coleman's recruiting. He is still listing Xavier, Marquette, Florida, UConn, Arkansas, and Virginia as his top six schools.

Jody Demling has an update on who Kentucky and Louisville plan on doing in-home visits with from the senior class. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/09/in-home-visits-on-tap.html

Dematha (MD) shooting guard Victor Oladipo has joined Indiana's 2010 recruiting class. Sportspress has him ranked #58
in the class and rivals and Gibbons have him ranked around 135. http://www.insidethehall.com/2009/09/07/victor-oladipo-joins-indianas-2010-class/

Late update, just got off Twitter and Dematha's high school coach is saying Jerian Grant has committed to Notre Dame also! Grant is going to play for another Dematha alumn in Coach Brey.

Shiningstarsports.com has a new feature up on Tregg Setty. He is receiving interest from Xavier, Virginia, Old Miss, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Wright State, Tennessee, and others including an offer from Southern Illinois.
http://www.shiningstarsports.blogspot.com/

Lots of rumors have been swirling recently about Kentucky facing another hit with the NCAA, although I haven't heard anything that is huge on the surface at least. UK blogger Marc maggard weighs in defending Bilel Batley from what Maggard calls "unfair" rumors about his dismisal. The mature Mongrel does not want to start sharing whispers when they are potentially harmful to people (you'll find the rare rumor mongering I participate in is pretty neutral or positive stuff), but I'll throw this defense by Maggard out there for now until more becomes known. Batley followed Kelvin Sampson from OU and was at OU during Sampson's phone scandal part one, then was at Indiana with Sampson for a year prior to phone scandal part two, then went to Memphis under Calipari for the Derek Rose saga, and had followed Cal to UK until recently at least. http://www.truebluekentucky.com/index.php/basketball/926-guest-basketball/1910-bilal-bately-and-unfair-assumptions.html

Visit updates and School Lists in the Calm Before the Storm

2009-09-05T19:26:00.008-04:00

6'5 Nequa Valley star Dwayne Evans is one of the more sought after kids in the Chicago area in the 2010 class. According to the Hoops Report (Sun Times Hendrickson blog) he is very high on Drake, St Louis, and Northwestern with Illinois State and Toledo staying involed as well. http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/ 6'10 Dekalb center Jordan Threloff enjoyed a recent visit to Drake as well. Hendrickson believes Illinois State is also strong with the big man and lists Western Michigan, Western Kentucky, Loyola, and Northern Illinois as the likely schools to watch for Threloff.

6'5 Demath (MD) senior Victor Oladipo seems to be favoring Indiana and Notre Dame. He visited Indiana this weekend and had some nice things to say about Indiana and said he could verbal at any time but appears a good bet to make the USC vs Notre Dame game later this month to visit with former Dematha coach Mike Brey. http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/iusp/?p=4355 Indiana sits well with top 5 ranked Kyrie Irving so they might only have one grant available to use on either Oladipo or two other wings expected to visit in the next couple of weeks Stacey Poole and Moses Morgan. With Poole's recruitment appearing to favor Kentucky, look for Indiana to have a good chance to secure a commitment either from Oladipo sometime this week or Morgan sometime next week when he visits.

Poole is visiting Indiana and Kentucky the weekend of the 18/19 of September. He is talking like UK is his favorite in recent interviews but has listed several schools as favorites in the last month and Kentucky is also doing in-home visits with a few other elite 2010 big wings such as Tobias Harris, Cameron Clark, and Doron Lamb. Kentucky appears to have quite a few rides to use in 2010, but could be facing a shortage of big kids next year if Patterson and Cousins leave as expected. It is unclear if Kentucky will pursue Poole or if Poole will be scared away if Kentucky lands one of those other outstanding prospects in the next couple of weeks. It is nearly inconceivable that UK will pursue less than 2 big kids and 2 point/combo guards in this class looking at the kids they will likely lose after this season and the kids who seem enthralled with UK right now. They are still the talk of the college basketball world with Calipari and seemingly every point guard who watched Derek Rose on TV has Cal on speed dial, its hard to expect them to get less than two big time points in the 2010 class.

All summer long schools chase the recruits around the country but once official visits begin and kids start committing in September the recruiting landscape can shift suddenly and dramatically as kids who planned on doing five visits realize the school they were leaning to is probably going to get one of their buddies instead next week and might be out of rides for the foreseeable future at their position. Its a big game of dominoes and several kids will choose the school we all knew they would but a few will wait too long and see their favorite school move on someone else.

Rick Pitino called a press conference last week and announced that his sex scandal will not keep Louisville from being a destination for top ten kids. Boy he appears to be right. After losing some momentum the last few months with several commitments flaking out for Europe and other reasons Louisville is hosting a who's who of elite recruits this weekend including Marquis Teague, Mike Shaw, Wayne Blackshear, Rod Odom, Macari Brooks, Zach Price, and others. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

Michigan State is visiting Jayvaughn Pinkston this month. Cincinnati is hosting Devon Collier for a visit. Pinkston and Collier are both 6'8 forwards from New Jersey who appear on several top 150 lists. Hoopsreport.com has updates on several recruits of note including Oladipo, Terrence Jones, and others. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/hoopsnews/ontheroad2

Another Hoopsreport article of note includes an update on Indiana, Ohios State, and Louisville target Adonis Thomas. Louisville and Indiana also have both offered Angel Nunez, and they update the recruitment of Indianapolis superstar sophomore Jeremy Hollowell who already has offers from Ohio State, Cincinnati, Iowa, Tennessee, Xavier, and Illinois along with strong interest from Indiana and Purdue. That is quite an offer list for someone in the 2012 class that the national scouts seem to be just discovering. He outplayed top ten ranked Wisconsin superstar JP Tokoto head to head in a couple of championship games and has a silky smooth shot, great length, and is dripping with upside. The picture above of Hollowell is a little blurry (which of course means its one I took instead of one I linked from another article) and shows Hollowell from the USSSA Nationals in Ft Wayne where his Spiece Indy Stars club played well in the 16U division. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/hoopsnews/thursdaybuzzerbeaters1

While we're doing our rounds with Hoopsreport.com, don't overlook this article on Stevie Taylor. He's got offers from Akron, Ball State, Ohio, and a few other mid-majors and will be switching to All-Ohio Red next year. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/hoopsnews/stevietaylormakesdecisiontoswapprogramsforfamilyaswellashisgame

High Major Scoop is twittering that Penn State hosted Ohio stars Trey Burke and Aaron White this weekend.

September Visits, Commitments, Updates...

2009-09-03T16:26:00.009-04:00

The summer is winding down, the pig skin is being dusted off, and bikinis are still in fashion. That's right folks, September is in full force. Recruiting visits are happening all over the country, and most of the time schools try to get their top priorities on campus first so expect commitments to pick up a little starting next week. Last week one of the best uncommitted players in Ohio pulled the trigger for Xavier. Griffin McKenzie had his list down to four schools and found his future home in his own back yard. The Cincinnati star is all of 6'9 and has good reach. I haven't seen much of him since May when he was still kicking the rust off from a long recovery from a back injury so I don't have a real good feel for how good he is. When I saw him he appeared a bit mechanical but showed a nice outside shot. He had strong interest from Ohio State, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and several other high major programs.

Meanwhile a pair of Baltimore area stars are visiting high major campuses near you. 2010 star guard Jerrian Grant is visiting Mike Brey and Notre Dame this weekend, and 6'4 athlete supreme Victor Oladipo is on Indiana's campus. Its thought that Notre Dame will also have an excellent shot at both players as Oladipo has a visit scheduled for Notre Dame as well. Indiana and Notre Dame are also both expecting visits from Alabama's Ralston Turner this fall, another fine wing in the 2010 class.

The good Mongrel has been puting off a series of posts in response to emails on who is the best player in each state not to show up on the national top 100 lists and Kentucky is one of the primary culprits. 2010 stars Ricardo Johnson, Josh Sewell, and Ge'lawn Guyn are all outstanding players that in the opinion of the impressed Mongrel would be nice additions for any program in the country. Guyn ended up at Charlotte and Sewell with the Miami Redhawks but Johnson is out doing visits right now. Johnson is an outstanding athlete and has good size and strength for a guard as well. He's about 6'4 and can really defend. Johnson's first really strong offer came from Jim Les' Bradley program who has been on him from the beginning and he mentions some of the appeals of Bradley in this player bio put out by Hoopsreport.com. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/playerdiaries/ricardosdiary

According to the Louisville Courier Journal reporter Jody Demling, Aaron Thomas has picked up an offer from Indiana. Thomas is a 6'4 wing in the 2011 class from Cincinnati who drew a lot of high major attention for the Queen City Prophets in July. Demling's blog is linked on the side-bar.

Another Indiana prospect is heading to prep school. Its an epidemic which is wiping out the state's talent base in 2010. Dominique Fergeson and Justin Martin are getting all the attention, and for good reason they are outstanding high major star prospects. But Indianapolis Northwest's Ronald Ross will be joining Martin at Mountain State Academy. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/09/ross-to-prep-sc.html Ross has an offer from Ohio. In addition to the three Indianapolis stars, Enique Mason and Xavier Jones from the SYF Players organization will be leaving the state for prep school. Jones is a very well known prospect from Gary who has offers to several strong mid-majors and some high majors as well. Mason might be a name people aren't as familiar with but that won't be the case too long. Right now he's probably projected as a lower D1 player, but the kid is very strong and coordinated and at 6'10 you just don't see many bodies out there like his. If you got to see Maurice Walker this summer from Team Breakdown (Canada) Mason looks like he's on track to be that kind of player. He needs to get a little more aggressive but he works hard on defense, uses his body against his opponent, has good hands, and can get the ball in the hoop when he tries and he has the size you can't teach. Walker is also in the 2010 class but I'm pretty sure he's 2-3 years older than Mason iirc. Big guys have the famous light that comes on and Mason is a kid who can go from nowhere to somewhere pretty quick if that happens, he's got all the parts lined up waiting for the big game to happen. I hope the move to Ohio treats him well.

Chicago area shooting forward Duje Dukan has an offer from Miami to add to his collection. Check out this free story on his visit to see the Redhawks campus. http://miamiohio.scout.com/2/894589.html Dukan is a 6'8 forward with a smooth shooting stroke and has other offers from Oregon State, New Mexico, and several mid-major programs.

Kentucky is going to host 6'8 Portland, Oregon forward Terrance Jones on September 22nd according to Zagsblog.com. http://www.zagsblog.net/

The absent-minded Mongrel missed this update on Central Michigan recruiting this year by MILive.com. http://blog.mlive.com/highschoolbasketball/ In addition to Coach Zeigler's son Trey, Central Michigan is in the running for Cole Darling, Colin Voss, Devin Long, Nate VanArendonk, and Maurice Jones.

2011 Muncie, Indiana star Jeremiah Davis is hearing from the locals how badly they want to see him wearing an Indiana uniform. Check out this interview from the Bloomington Herald Times on Davis. http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/iusp/?p=4325 When Davis first came to the good Mongrel's attention he was getting high major offers from the best programs in the country as an 8th and soon to be 9th grader. Much like fellow 2011 point guard star Marquis Teague, his teams have not performed as well as you'd hope for such an outstanding talent and smart kid at point to produce. Davis had a habit of taking too many shots and despite having all the right tools and being a good kid, he started out with a bit of a reputation for a free lancer. This summer he switched AAU teams and really handled the point well in July and regained the attention of some national scouts and more high major programs. Its unclear where he'll end up imo, I'm not real convinced the Indiana hype is going to pan out. Schools with huge fan bases like Indiana or Kentucky tend to drum up unrealistic expectations which include landing every recruit who talks them up, but many kids like to talk them up just to get their names out there. We'll see though, if Davis continues to mature on the court he's got the overall game and athleticism to continue his track to McDonald's All American status so he'd be a good get for any program who can keep him focused on running the team. Davis is pictured above from an IDS photo. I've seen him several times and love his ability on both sides of the ball, it'll be fun to see how good he can be if he keeps playing team ball.

Recruiting Tidbits

2009-08-31T00:29:00.009-04:00

The elite camp report inspired quite a bit of emails, so here is a follow up on the Indiana camp. http://www.insidethehall.com/2009/08/30/scouting-notes-from-saturdays-elite-camp/ My mind isn't slipping, this is a different link from the last story. Inside the Hall apparently had a mole in the Indiana Elite camp who gave them a great scouting report. I think the comments on Baker, Hicks, Hulls, and Tokoto are particularly right on. Tokoto is a phenomenal prospect and seems like a better kid but the scouts will turn their lists over a dozen times before he graduates and I don't think he'll wind up being higher than Baker or Hicks for sure and probably not better than some of the other kids mentioned in that report. That's sort of like criticizing Cindi Crawford for not being quite as sexy as Bridgett Bardot though, as the Good Mongrel reported from the Kentucky Hoopfest and Hoosier Shootout, Tokoto is the real deal and will be a wonderful player. I like Ron Patterson, Ken Kaminski, and Devontes Smith-Rivera more personally, but its early and these kids will be a lot of fun to watch the next couple of years as they drift up and down the various top 100 lists. Here is an update on Hicks. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/08/hicks-had-blast-in-bloomington.html

* Here is a link to an Insidethehall.com Muncie Central guard Jeremiah Davis interview after the elite camp where he says among other things that he could commit today, tomorow, or any time in the future (not to any specific school, but it is thought that Indiana and Ohio State are sitting pretty well with him right now). Davis is ranked #40 in the country by Rivals.com. He is an outstanding talent, a very physical guard who has the athleticism and aggressiveness to be a star in college if he continues to mature as a point guard. http://www.insidethehall.com/2009/08/31/q-a-jeremiah-davis-talks-elite-camp-recruiting/

HighMajorScoop.com had a nice IPS rundown from last week we missed. http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/08/weekend-scoop-2/ Here is a cut and paste from a few of the players with some school updates. Also check out the Scott County (KY) update on their site.

*Trey Lewis, 6-foot-1,2011, Shooting Guard, Garfield Heights, Ohio holds offers from Akron, Kent, Cleveland State, Ohio University and St. Joes. He is also getting interest from Penn State, Wisconsin, Indiana, Nevada, Michigan, Alabama, West Virginia and Xavier
* Trey Burke, 5-foot-11, 2011, Point Guard, Columbus (Northland H/S), Ohio holds offers from Butler, Akron, Kent, Ohio, James Madison, Miami-Ohio and Kent State. He visited Cincinnati and Ohio over this past wee and plans on taking visits to Penn State, Dayton, Baylor, Miami-Ohio among others.
* Treavon Jackson, 6-foot-2, 2011, Wing-Guard, Westerville (South H/S), Ohio visited Akron and Miami-Ohio this weekend. Jackson holds offers from both programs as well as Cleveland State and Ohio University. Jackson is the son of former Ohio State and NBA player Jimmy Jackson.
* Adreian Payne, 6-foot-9, 2010, PF, Dayton (Jefferson H/S), Ohio is reportedly down to four programs; West Virginia, Arizona, Michigan State and Kansas. Many still feel it’s a wild card race for Payne, but sources close say WVU and MSU are neck and neck. This should be a interesting one.
* Griffin McKenzie, 6-foot-8, 2010, SF, Cincinnati (Moeller H/S), Ohio visited Northwestern this week. Griffin is down to four programs, Xavier, Wake Forest, Northwestern and Vanderbilt.
* Rob Brandenberg, 6-foot-2, 2010, SG, Gahanna (Lincoln HS), Ohio took a unofficial visit to Ohio University this weekend. His top five are VCU, Ohio University, Wright State , Akron and Marshall. (update, Brandenberg has since committed to VCU)
* Kyle Molock, 6-foot-1, 2012, PG, from Dublin (Coffman H/S), Ohio holds offers from Ohio University, Akron, Georgia State and St. Joes. He is also getting strong interest from Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Florida International, Illinois and Purdue.

Mark Miller's Courtside blog is reporting that Vander Blue is down to five schools. Arizona (you know where you've heard that one before...vbg), UCLA, Marquette, Florida, and Wisconsin are the final five. http://www.wissports.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/blog.aspx?f=123

Jim Reamer's outstanding web site Hoosierhoopsreport.com has been redone and has been cranking out some excellent material of late. Most recently they reported that 2012 5'9 Park Tudor point guard Yogi Ferrell has received an offer from Purdue to go along with the previous offers from Butler and Ohio State. Yogi is one of the Mongrel's favorite players to watch this summer, most recently I got to see him in Ft Wayne playing on the same team as Marquis Teague and he may not be the kind of NBA prospect Teague is on track to be, but he runs the team at least as well in my opinion. You have to check Yogi out, he's got pretty long arms for a smaller player and is really intense, the wide open eyes kind of make me think of a Mike Singletary who wasn't much taller than Yogi who is seen above in an Indy Star photo. Here is a link to get to know Yogi better if you haven't had the chance. http://www.indy.com/posts/college-coaches-finally-catch-highly-touted-yogi

Here is another outstanding link from Hoosierhoopsreport.com. It has a scholarship chart for the D1 colleges in Indiana. Wish we could get one of those for Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois it makes it a lot easier to figure out when your competition is going to drop off for a player after they receive another commitment. I see these on team websites all the time but they are rarely as efficient and easy to read as this one and he gets several schools together on it.
http://hoosierhoopsreport.com/2009/08/30/scholarship-grids/

Back to High Major Scoop for some more scoops, they are twittering that Notre Dame hosted Marcus Crider and Travis Trice this weekend and they expect Trey Burke soon as well. Notre Dame recruiting is picking up steam right now with visits expected soon from many wonderful players such as Ralston Turner, Jabari Brown, and Victor Oladipo.

And finally one of the Mongrel's original favorites was visiting Bradley recently. Coach Blevins from Hoopsreport.com tells it like it is when he says Ricardo Johnson is a top 150 talent. He shut down and put away Georgetown commitment Vee Sanford in the 2009 class in the Sweet 16 matchup in Kentucky's state tournament last year on his way to earning tournament MVP honors and leading Covington Holmes to the state title along with his trusty and jumpy sidekick Elijah Pittman. The good Mongrel is very high on Josh Sewell and Ge'lawn Guyn also, all three of those kids would appear in any version of a top 150 the Mongrel would be foolhardy enough to produce. I'll be weighing in soon enough on which of those three overlooked kids is the best but it is not an easy task and you will all be hearing from them next year in a big way from Miami, Charlotte, and wherever Johnson winds up. Anyway, enough editorializing here is the link. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/hoopsnews/ricardojohnsonvisitingbradley

Elite Camp Weekend

2009-08-28T00:16:00.005-04:00

With school back in session, many schools are looking to capitalize by bringing in recruits before official visits begin for the seniors and the underclassmen go back to the books. Purdue, Indiana, and Marquette had big turn outs for their elite camps. Purdue and Marquette had 2 day elite camps this weekend and Indiana's was a smaller one day event that had less than 1/3 as many kids as their June Elite camp. Other schools such as Syracuse are also holding elite camps this weekend, they were expecting Tobias Harris and other players of interest to local schools.

Marquette had the most impressive roster this time around headlined by Vander Blue, a 2010 kid from Madison who decommitted from Wisconsin a few months ago. Analysts have Blue in the top 50 in the country, with some recent revisions getting him well into the top 30 with some scouting services. I continue to hear Arizona is strong with Blue but he spent a lot of time with the Badgers since his decommitment. Obviously if he winds up at Marquette it would be a deadly blow to Bo Ryan who needs a headliner type of recruit desperately as Marquette continues to bring in top talent and the younger classes in Wisconsin are looking loaded. Here is a list of kids from Marquette's elite camp. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/56121437.html Several hot names in the 2010 class were there including Jeremy Lamb, Justin Coleman, Reggie Smith, Cameron Clark, JJ Moore, Tarik Black, Michael Cobbins, and Jevaughn Pinkston. I have seen each of those kids on top 150 lists with Coleman and Clark being the highest ranked usually in the top 50 but varying depending on where you look. 2011 kids included Bruce Barron, Branden Dawson, Dre Henley, Wayne Blackshear, and James Siakhem among others. 2012 kids included Dejuan Marerro and Junior Lomamba.

Many of the top underclassmen from Wisconsin were in Indiana for their elite camp including JP Tokoto and some others you can read about on Peegs.com on the premium website. I'm not aware of any 2010 kids at Indiana's elite camp but this Insidethehall article said Austin Etherington, Matt Carlino, and Jeremiah Davis were among the better players. Jeremiah Davis could make the third in-state commitment in the class for Tom Crean who has been working the younger classes in Indiana tirelessly. 2012 stars at the camp included Tokoto, Jeremy Hollowell, Kellon Thomas, and TJ Bell. 2013 stars included Colin Hartman (a week after attending the Duke camp with Tokoto), Brent Scott, Bryson Scott, and in the Mongrel's opinion the best two prospects at the camp Daryl Hicks and Daryl Baker. After seeing Tokoto, Hollowell, Davis, Thomas, Hicks, and Baker multiple times this summer the good Mongrel feels Hicks and Baker are easily the best of that stellar group of kids. I haven't seen the Scott twins or Hartman yet. http://www.insidethehall.com/2009/08/30/notes-from-saturdays-elite-camp/

Purdue held a very well attended elite camp also. Dejuan Marrero (2012), and Branden Dawson (2011) were the big names and both stayed a day before going to the Marquette camp. I'll edit and paste a link to a free article if I can find some coverage of the event but so far I'm not able to. As always I suggest trying GoldandBlack.com for coverage, I always see them out at tournaments they do a great job. I've heard Mike Ramey and Spencer Turner were two of the 2011 standouts at the camp.

Marquis Teague was a late scratch from the Indiana camp and as the Insidethehall article and the earlier reports from the Good Mongrel suggest, he appears to be all but a done deal to Louisville. Here's a hot Teague rumor. http://www.straitpinkie.com/sports/a-hot-marquis-teague-rumor/

Cincinnati got a commitment from 6'8 2010 forward Justin Jackson from Florida. Jackson got the attention of several area schools in July and has the sound of a nice get for Cronin and company. ESPN has him ranked just inside the top 100 and here's a link to their report on his commitment. http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/school?schoolId=2132&page=briefingroom&season=2010&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fschool%3fschoolId%3d2132%26page%3dbriefingroom%26season%3d2010

I've been getting several great emails on the most underrated kids out there and will be doing some features on those soon I promise! Keep it coming. Ge'lawn Guyn, Brian Fabrizius, Allen Payne, Ron Patterson, and others have been mentioned recently and I'm working on some features for all of them.

Recruiting Round-up

2009-08-25T19:03:00.006-04:00

In case you missed it, the Louisville Courier Journal's Jody Demling did a wonderful hoops recruiting chat. He covers Kentucky high school basketball as well as recruiting for Kentucky, Louisville, and Indiana. The "golden triangle" schools own 14 NCAA titles between them and all have been in the final four this decade. So he has quite a horde of fans beating his door down and got to answer quite a few questions today. Here is the link. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/08/recruiting-live-chat.html Some highlights include...

* Marquis Teague has some mixed signals out there for all three top schools but most indicators lead to UL being his final choice.
* Says in 2010 class he thinks IU will most likely end up with Kyrie Irving and still has a chance with Victor Oladipo, Jalen Kendrick, Moses Morgan, Michael Cobbins, and Jeremy Lamb. (hoopsreport.com article linked below has Cobbins' five visits already scheduled and no IU)
* 2013 superstar Daryl Hicks has the attention of UL and UK and IU has been to several of his games already.
* Said Michael Gilchrist is supposed to make the IU elite camp this weekend.
* Said UL is expecting Rod Odom and Zach Price to visit Sep 5th and JJ Moore October 2nd and UL has a good chance at all three.
* Mentioned he really likes Rakeem Christmas (IU and OSU in his final 8).
* UK in 2010 is in good shape with CJ Leslie, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Josh Selby, Brandon Knight, Roscoe Smith, Cameron Clark, Tobias Harris, and Adriean Payne.
* IU in 2011 is in good shape with Marshall Plumlee, Rakeem Christmas, Jeremiah Davis, Cody Zeller, Deng Leek, Sam Thompson (Demling might be right about Leek if he recently reclassified, but last I knew Leek was 2010).
* UL and IU are expecting visits from Angel Nunez in late September.
* Cincinnati's Griffin McKenzie likes Xavier and Wake and could decide soon (not from demling but he is also considering Northwestern and Vanderbilt).
* When asked about Chane Behanon he said it was strange with the kid telling some people he was still committed and his uncle and hs coach saying he was open, but pointed out since he's letting people recruit him he's not really committed (mentioned Oklahoma State and WKU offers).
* Former UK commit Dakotah Euton is being recruited by EKU, High Point, Wofford, Coastal Carolina.
* Xavier likes Remy Abel from Eastern (Louisville).

Here are a few other tidbits the last couple of days from twitter mining...

* Duke has offered Marshall Plumlee (Bluedevilnation) and JP Tokoto (Evan Daniels).
* Dublin Coffman (Ohio) point guard Kyle Molock visited Duke, North Carolina, and Wake Forest (ONPSS).

Hoopsreport's Dustin Rumbaugh has a nice rundown on several top national targets and includes an update on Xavier Jones from Gary, Indiana. The 2010 tough as nails point guard has offers from Marquette, Indiana State, and Dayton and will be transferring to Ohio for his senior year. Also Dematha (Maryland) guard Jerrian Grant has Depaul and Notre Dame as two of his final four schools. Rumbaugh also says Macari Brooks (photo above is from a Midstatehoops.com article) will be visiting Louisville with Wayne Blackshear on September 5th. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/hoopsnews/wednesdaybuzzerbeaters
*

Updates and Commitments: August 24

2009-08-24T23:41:00.003-04:00

Indianapolis Lawrence North's Justin Martin (Rivals #87) will return for his senior year at Lawrence North where he averaged 11 points per game as a junior. Martin has ended his recruitment with a commitment to Xavier. Martin is a very good shooter and can be a very good defender and is a very talented kid whom the good Mongrel looks forward to seeing in the A10. The Mongrel is a few days late on this story but here is some of the praise out there for Martin. http://www.ny2lasports.com/NY2LA%20Sports%20Articles/MartintoXavier.htm

Kurt Stubbs from JJHuddle.com has several interesting things to say in his Ohio hoops recruiting rundown from the 21st. http://www.jjhuddle.com/blog/post-detail.php?p=3246

* 2011 big man Zach Price (Rivals #66) from St Edwards (Lakewood) has offers from Louisville, Miami (Fl), Michigan State, Ohio State, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin.
* Jakarr Sampson (Rivals #100) is a 6'8 small forward in the 2011 class from Akron St Vincent-St Mary's. He lists offers from Cincinnati, Xavier, Akron, and Dayton and plans visits to Ohio State and Michigan State this summer.
* Trey Burke (Rivals #105) is a point guard from Columbus Northland. He has offers from Ohio, Cleveland State, Akron, James Madison, Kent State, Butler, Miami, and Stephen F Austin and visited Cincinnati on the 21st.
* 5'7 point guard Stevie Taylor (Rivals #150) also has offers from Ohio, Akron, James Madison, Miami, and others. Taylor is one of those little guys who always comes out on top but people tend to try to temper their expectations because one day the competition will be too big, but so far he's still impossible for anyone to guard. Picture above is Taylor from 4.bp.blogspot.com.

Milwuakee Hamilton's Elgin Cook has accepted a scholarship to play for Iowa State. He is a very athletic 6'6 kid in the 2011 class. Scroll down to the second article on the blog for more. http://www.wissports.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/blog.aspx?f=123

Pittsburgh commitment Cameron Wright has a nice profile in a new article on the best players not included in the top 100 by ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4411749

Chicagohoops has a nice piece on Ben Brackney from Lincoln HS. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/benbrackney2.html Brackney is a 6'5 shooting wing forward with offers from Eastern Illinois, Bucknell, Murray State, SIU-Edwardsville, and other schools. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/benbrackney2.html

Lots of news coming from Demling's blog as always. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

* Chane Behanan (Rivals #95) (notice corrected and wise spelling) has received an offer from Western Kentucky.
* Marquis Teague (Rivals #2) seems to be rushing in Indiana, Purdue, and Kentucky visits before his season starts. He was on Kentucky's campus this weekend and will be at Purdue and Indiana's elite camps this coming weekend. This part is the Mongrel editorializing but the kid has all but spelled out his preference to Louisville the last couple of weeks, looks like he's trying to give a last look to all comers before pulling the trigger. Let me know if I turn out to be wrong about that one loyal readers...
* Dematha (Maryland) athlete Victor Oladipo is expected to visit Indiana September 3rd and 4th.
Carlton Brundidge praise from NBE Blog. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/24/recruiting-notebook-rod-odom-carlton-brundidge-carson-desrosiers/ Michigan, Michigan State, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, Syracuse, and Providence are interested in him.

Teague, Kearney, and Other Updates

2009-08-20T14:33:00.009-04:00

Marquis Teague is visiting UK this weekend per Jody Demling. He will then attend the Indiana University and Purdue elite camps next weekend. His father says pay no attention to internet rumors about where he will attend school and says all six schools are still involved including Wake, Louisville, and Cincinnati. Marquis a few weeks ago was quoted in one article saying he was close to committing and in another article the day before saying Louisville was his favorite so I'm not real sure how much that has changed aside from his father's denials that Pitino's sex scandal has impacted their opinion of Louisville. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

Detroit Southeastern guard Brandon Kearney says he will likely decide next summer but his early leaders are Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Florida International is well in the mix as well. He lists several other schools including Kentucky and several other national powers are interested including Florida and Oklahoma. http://www.detnews.com/article/20090820/SPORTS0201/908200427/1004/SPORTS/U-M++MSU++OSU+are+early+leaders+for+Detroit+Southeastern+s+Brandan+Kearney The photo of Kearney is from Sam Webb's Detroit News column previously linked.

Lincoln Park (Illinois) 6'7 power forward Mike Gabriel is considering Brown and Penn who have offered as well as Northern Illinois and Detroit. He also has interest from Yale, Marquette, and Depaul. Gabriel played for the Mac Irvin Fire program this summer, usually for their 16U squad because he is young for a 2010 kid. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/20/class-of-2010-intro-mike-gabriel/

Decatur Eisenhower guard Jarod Oldham has picked up an offer from Buffalo to go with his previous offer from Eastern Illinois. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/joldham2.html

Here is an IndyStar article on five stock raisers from July. They mention Cody Zeller, Jeremy Hollowell, Nic Moore, Marquis Teague, and Ron Patterson. http://www.indystar.com/article/20090820/SPORTS0615/90820059/1361/SPORTS0615/Zeller++Teague++Hollowell+among+big+July+jumpers

Bowling Green, Loyola, and North Dakota have offered Wisconsin Lutheran's Flavien Davis. Davis gets pretty polarizing reviews including some who have ranked him in the top 100 nationally and some who don't like his game even at the mid-major level. He got some good reviews at Indiana University's elite camp in June and had a huge 38 point game including a half court game winner at the Adidas May Classic which drew him some great reviews and a couple of quite games in front of national scouts including Evan Daniels which drew more bad ones. Davis is still being recruited by Xavier, Ball State, Oregon State, and other programs and might wait till spring to try to prove he can be consistent. http://www.wissports.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/blog.aspx?f=123

Colt Darling (Ohio) is on the campus of Wright State today according to National Preps' twitter (ONPSS).

Gibbons top 150 for 2010, Other Recruiting Buzz

2009-08-19T00:00:00.004-04:00

Before getting to veteran hoops talent scout Bob Gibbons update for his 2010 top 150 list, the Good Mongrel would like to mention some other hubub of note.

* Detroit County Day's Ray MacCallum Jr is planning on attending the Duke elite camp this weekend. He, Kyrie Irving, and Brandon Knight are Duke's primary point guard targets. MacCallum Jr is also strongly considering UCLA and Kansas among other schools. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/hoopsnews/mccallumgetsgeneticgiftandknowledgeofthegamefromfather
* Bowling Green star and Cincinnati decommitment Chase Behannon has been contacted by UK, Georgia, West Virginia, and Alabama among other schools since his mysterious and shifting decommitment. He has guardians in Cincinnati that weren't on board with the decommitment but they appeared to endorse that the Bowling Green guardian who said he had decommitted was handling his recruitment. I don't know what to say about that but here's a recruiting update from Demling that wisely avoids the confusing side of it altogether. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/08/uk-calling-on-in-state-prospect.html
* Wisconsin has sort of offered Port Washington shooting guard John Gasser. They offered a "four for five" deal where Gasser would walk on as a freshman and get a scholarship the next four years. Gasser has legit offers from so many good schools he seems unlikely to take that offer but if Vander Blue doesn't re-up with Wisconsin he may get the four for four offer he's getting from Maryland, Northwestern, and other good schools. http://www.wissports.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/blog.aspx?f=123 The "quick hitters" section also mentions a Ball State offer to 7'0 center Ben Mills. The photo of Mills above is from Livinglakecountry.com the local newspaper.
* Insidethehall twitters that 2013 Jeffersonville phenom Daryl Baker will be at Indiana University's elite camp last weekend in August.

Gibbons has his new top 150 list out for post-summer 2010. Here are some players of note for each state in the Mongrel's radius and some of the recruits playing for schools in that neighborhood...

Illinois: Jerome Richmond (UI) #18, Crandall Head (UI) #42, Myers Leonard (UI) #44, Lenzelle Smith (Ohio St) #87, Brandon Spearman (Dayton) #100, Ahmad Starks (Oregon St) #120, Anthony Johnson (Purdue) #124, Ben Brust (Iowa) #136, Alex Dragecevich (Notre Dame) #164,

Indiana: DeShawn Thomas (Ohio St) #6, Dominique Fergeson (Fla Int) #33, Eric Atkins (out of state Notre Dame commitment) #51, Justin Martin #56, Russell Byrd (MSU) #77, David Williams (out of state Indiana commitment) #107, Terone Johnson (Purdue) #110, Travis Carroll (Purdue) #144, Donnie Hale (Purdue) #168, Jesse Berry (Dayton) #175,

Kentucky: Josh Langford (out of state Louisville commitment) #67, Curtis Washington (USC) #145, Ge'lawn Guyn (Charlotte) #160,

Michigan: Keith Appling (MSU) #23, Ray MacCallum Jr #39, Evan Smotrycz (out of state Michigan commitment) #55, Trey Zeigler #63, Tim Hardaway (out of state Michigan commitment) #99, Alex Guana (MSU) #100, Jon Horford #123,

Ohio: Jarred Sullinger (Ohio St) #1, Adriean Payne #28, Jordan Seibert (Ohio St) #41, Juwan Staten (out of state Dayton commit) #47, JD Weatherspoon (Ohio St) #73, Aaron Craft #78, Cameron Wright (Pittsburgh) #125, Jordan Laytham (out of state Xavier recruit) #133,

Boyd out at WKU, Other Recruiting Updates

2009-08-17T00:46:00.013-04:00

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers have quite a bit of recruiting momentum recently and have developed strong relationships with some key New Jersey recruits as well as taking advantage of an upsurge in talent in Kentucky. Unfortunately they suffered quite a recruiting loss as Terrence Boyd has been released from WKU, he was the first of their big name recruits to get the ball rolling last year. http://www.wkusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=204775582&DB_OEM_ID=5400

Austin Burgett from Avon, Indiana picked up offers from Ohio and Xavier this weekend.

A Turkish phenom is getting some attention. Enes Kanter is being called a top ten prospect in the class of 2010 and he's come out of nowhere and is working out in Chicago. He'll attend Findley Prep, no word yet on possible schools.

http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/08/turkey-phenom-in-the-states/

Ahcraf Yacoubou is a 6'4 wing in the 2011 class that has UK in his final three along with UConn and Villanova. UK is also involved with 6'1 New Zeland center Dan Barto per Zagsblog. http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/08/17/recruiting-update-jj-moore-jamail-jones-trevor-releford-achraf-yacoubou/

Flyershoops is twittering that former UK commitment and Clark County star Vinnie Zollo from the class of 2011 has a Dayton offer. Zollo is a hard working and versatile power forward at about 6'7 and plays with Indiana Elite in the summer. He is pictured above from a Courier Journal article.

Springfield Lamphier 5'10 point guard Karl Madison is close to a decision on schools. He wants to decide before his high school season starts and lists Nevada, Depaul, Northwestern, Drake, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, and Cal Poly. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/kmadison.html

And checking in with Illinois Prep Bullseye, they have some recruiting updates including offers to some kids and the lack of offers to others. Here is the link and some bullet points... http://ilprepbullseye.com/page20.html

* Reggie Smith has not been offered by Indiana University. It has been reported by a few media outlets that he has. Right now Depaul, Marquette, and USC are in the best shape with him.
* Rayvonte Rice visited Drake this weekend and they are in great shape with him but he's not in a hurry.
* Hayden Hoerdemann visited Southern Illinois and has offers from Illinois State, Evansville, and Eastern Illinois.
* Duje Dukan has offers from Loyola, Miami, Fairfield, Evansville, UW-Green Bay, and Holy Cross.

Sealy and Newby Commit, Ohio Recruiting and Other Updates

2009-08-15T21:34:00.011-04:00

Ohio State has offered 2011 prospect Trever Cooney who played with Team Final this summer. He previously had several offers including Notre Dame and will be attending the Duke Elite Camp. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/15/pitt-ohio-state-offer-trevor-cooney-duke-interested-maurice-walker-tyler-olander-chris-martin-updates/ Mega huge Canadian import Maurice Walker is also being recruited by Kentucky and Marquette among other schools. At the Kentucky Hoopfest Walker was pretty impressive. He isn't a big stats guy but he is a legit 6'10 and wide and I was pretty impressed with how much he likes to lean on and beat down his opposition.

Here is an August 13 preview of Depaul done by NBE Basketball. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/13/depaul-summer-report/ It gives an overview of what they lost and what they return and touches on what I hear everyone saying about Depaul. They hired some impressive local recruiters as assistants and are doing a great job getting involved with lots of good recruits but will kids pull the trigger on Depaul when most observers think Wainright won't survive another brutal season? Its quite a dilemma for Blue Deamon recruits.

Jeff Johnson of the loaded Champaign Centennial HS (Rayvonte Rice, Josh Piper) team played really well at the Hoosier Shootout this year in front of the Mongrel. He has soft touch in traffic and has a dependable mid-range shot and bangs for rebounds well. According to Chicagohoops he just received an offer from UI-Chicago.

AaronsUKBBBlog has twittered that Dayton area big man Adriean Payne is going to host an in-home visit with Kansas coach Bill Self on September 14th. Payne is one of the elite prospects in the country and is being recruited by several schools including Kentucky.

Several schools will be hosting Elite Camps this month including Marquette, Indiana, Purdue, and others. Some elite camps have already been held including Iowa and the CP3 elite camp. I'll try to surf twitter for some updates on who is attending from time to time. I've seen that 2010 Detroit star Ray McCallum Jr was at the CP3 camp and 2012 Indianapolis star Jeremy Hollowell is planning on attending the Marquette camp from their twitter accounts so far. Iowa hosted several elite players including 2013 top player nationally Peter Jok, all the Iowa commitments, and some really good prospects like Will Artino and others. Arkansas hosted Dre Henley and others as we have mentioned.

Lots of Louisville news out there but this is a family friendly blog so we can't dip too deeply in that well. Louisville appears to be strong with several important recruits including Marquis Teague in 2011 and JJ Moore in 2010. Moore just cut his list to 5 schools and Louisville made the cut (along with Marquette). Pitino seems to have stopped the blood letting a bit as UL had lost a couple of recruits in recent months (Justin Martin and Jeremy Tyler) along with ace recruiter Richard Pitino who defected to Florida. The Indianapolis Star's Kyle Neddenreiep says 2011 Lawrence North stars Michael Chandler and Ryan Taylor are firm commitments despite Illinois and other schools still trying to recruit Chandler. http://www.indystar.com/article/20090814/SPORTS/90814051/1004/SPORTS/LN+recruits+stay+committed+to+Pitino

According to Evan Daniels, Jabs Newby of the loaded Mountain State Academy basketball program has given a verbal commitment to Eastern Kentucky. Newby is a 6'1 guard.

High Major Scoop has a great profile on 6'3 2011 Westerville South (Columbus) wing Treavon Jackson. Jackson was on the loaded All Ohio Red 2011 team this last summer and has been a hot name in recruiting circles lately. He has offers from Ohio, Akron, Cleveland State, and Miami as well as recent interest from Wisconsin and Dayton. http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/08/the-real-jacko/

High Major Scoop also has a twitter feed and they just said Craig Sealy gave a verbal commitment to Bowling Green. Sealy is a 6'7 forward who played with C-Biz and All-Ohio Red in summer ball and goes to Brookhaven HS(Columbus).

Here is a couple of great rundowns of the top recruits in 2010 in Ohio and their recruiting picture from JJHuddle.com. http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009/8/14/hoop-news-notes-and-nuggets-several-players-adding-schools-of-interest-transfer-updates And here is a second one from a couple of weeks ago. http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009/7/23/ohio-hoops-recruiting-news-aau-season-nearing-an-end I'll bullet point some of the school lists on uncommitted prospects.

* Jakarr Sampson's favorite is Cincinnati but he's hearing from Michigan State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, and Miami (Florida). Sampson played for the 2011 King James Shooting Stars. NY2LA has Sampson ranked 14th in the country, he is pictured above from the JJhuddle article.

* Devonte Beard is another 2011 prospect who plays for Akron SVSM and King James. Cincinnati is also recruiting Beard.

* Canton (Hoover) 5'10 point guard Niles Evans (2011) has an offer from Wright State where his brother plays as well as Akron.

* Columbus Northland's 2011 point guard Trey Burke is visiting Ohio this weekend and will be visiting Cincinnati, Penn State, and Baylor in the next few weeks. He's a 6'0 point who played for All Ohio Red this summer.

* Strongville wing Aaron White is another All Ohio Red player who visited Akron yesterday and will be visiting Penn State on September 5th.

Mike Pegram of Peegs.com is twittering that Marshall Plumlee and his family are visiting IU today and tomorow. I've had the chance to see quite a bit of Plumlee this summer and he's going to be really good. He's already 6'11 and is a hard worker and smart player. He doesn't do much outside of the paint right now but knows how to get open and competes well on defense. He visited Michigan last week and has visited Florida already this summer.

ESPN Rankings Updated

2009-08-13T09:01:00.004-04:00

ESPN released their updated 2010 and 2011 rankings yesterday. I'm going to cheat a little bit to show more depth than the top 100. They do player evaluations beyond the top 100 for many more prospects and if you do the right kind of search you can view them in sequence, effectively seeing the order they rank kids well into the hundreds. This expanded rankings includes some prep school kids so they won't exactly match the rankings you see on their top 100, I'll look at the top 300 kids for 2010 and 150 on 2011 as there are still many not evaluated. I'm going to try to find all the kids from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky that ESPN has ranked, give the approximated numerical order in bold and in parenthesis I'll include their Scouts.inc rating which goes from 70-100 for D1 prospects. Generally they rate 70-79 low D1, 80-89 mid major, and 90-100 high major. Kids they know about but don't evaluate enough get a 40 automatically. I'll include the ones on here rated 80 or higher and the school they committed to will also be in bold if they have committed. They have many more national scouts than Rivals or Scout and most of their contributors were coaches so it has a very different flavor than the Internet recruiting services.

Illinois

2010: Jerome Richmond Illinois (95) #19, Meyers Leonard Illinois (95) #53, Jay Harris (94) #68, Crandal Head Illinois (94) #74, Lenzelle Smith Ohio St (94) #76, Brandon Spearman Dayton (90) # 151, Anthony Johnson Purdue (90) #164, Ahmad Starks Oregon St (89) #204, Reggie Smith (88) #237 Alex Dragecevich Notre Dame (87) #252, Karl Madison (86), Alex Rossi (86), Eric Gaines (85), Rayvonte Rice (85), Jordan Threloff (85), Ben Brust (83), Chris Klimek (83), Mike McCall (82), Tommy Woolridge (82), Levonte Dority (82), Fred Heldring (82), William Triggs (82), Deandre McCamey (81), Wayne Simon (81), Dwayne Evans (80), James Reynolds 3 (80)

2011: Wayne Blackshear (96) #24, Chasson Randle (96) #31, Tracy Abrams Illinois (95) #41, Ryan Boatright (94) #55, Mike Shaw (93) #75, Sam Thompson (91) #92, Bruce Barron (91) #95, Macarri Brook (89) #140,

Indiana

2010: DeShaun Thomas Ohio St (96) #13, Justin Martin (95) #42, Dominique Fergeson (95) #47, Russell Byrd Michigan St (94) #57, Travis Carrol Purdue (93) #106, Donnie Hale Purdue (91) #137, Xavier Jones (90) #147, Terone Johnson Purdue (89) #184, Jesse Berry Dayton (87) #247, Ethan Jacobs Ohio (86) #299, Jan Mahlen (85), Eric Fromm (84), Andre Hampton (83), Roddy Richardson (83), Enique Mason (82),

2011: Marquis Teague (98) #4, Michael Chandler Louisville (96) #16, Marshall Plumlee (96) #28, Branden Dawson (95) #39, Matt Carlino Indiana (94) #44, Darwin "Dee" Davis Xavier (93) #66, Ryan Taylor Louisville (93) #76, Austin Etherington Indiana (89) #146,

Kentucky

2010: Dakota Euton (91) #136, Ge'lawn Guyn Charlotte (89) #195, Elijah Pittman (87) #267, Matt St John (87) #271, Curtis Washington USC (87) #274, Ricardo Johnson (85), Elijah Justice (85) , Josh Sewell (85), Chad Jackson (83), Jeremiah Johnson (82), Clint Stepp (82), Alexander Nicolic (80),

2011: Chase Behannon (93) #63, George Fant (90) #114,

Michigan

Trey Zeigler (95) #27, Keith Appling Michigan State (95) #36, Ray MacCallum Jr (95) #37, Alex Guana Mich St (90) #160, Isiah Sykes (89) #205, Maurice Jones (87) #258, Roy Marble Iowa (86) #279, Brian Coleman (83), Brian Coleman(83), Kevonte Martin-Manley (83), Mike Talley (82), Muhammed Conde (80),

2011: Amir Williams (96) #17, Carlton Brundidge (95) #42, Brandon Kearney (91) #98, LeDonte Hinton (90) #120,

Ohio

2010: Jarred Sullinger Ohio St (98) #2, Adreian Payne (95) #24, Juwan Staten Dayton (94) #60, Jordan Sibert Ohio St (94) #71, Aaron Craft Ohio St (92) #116, JD Weatherspoon Ohio St (92) #130, Nick Kellog (90) #149, Cameron Wright Pittsburgh (88) #212, Geron Johnson (88) #225, Griffin McKenzie (87) #264, Allen Payne (87) #266, Ralph Hill Dayton (86) #297, Rob Brandenburg (85), John Enger Akron (84), Derek Jackson Central Mich (84), Quinton Rollins Miami (83), Craig Sealy (83), Ryan Bass (82), Kevin Gray (82), Eric Lefeld (81), Terrance Marshall (81), Reginald Lewis (80)

2011: Zach Price (91) #100, James Price (90) #129, Jakarr Sampson (90) #131, Markus Crider (89) #143, Anton Grady (89) #149,

Wright State and IUPUI land commitments.

2009-08-12T22:13:00.011-04:00

Mount Vernon (Indiana) has three prospects who have been drawing attention from most of the mid-majors coaches in the mid-west. On Wednesday PJ Hubert committed to Shoeless Ron Hunter and his IUPUI Jaguars. Hubert is a 6'5 wing forward with what Hoosier Hoops Report called the best shot in Indiana in the class of 2010 earlier this summer. Here is the Indy star link on his commitment (photo on right is Hubert from that story). http://www.indystar.com/article/20090812/SPORTS0615/90812054/1361/Mount%20Vernon%20guard%20commits%20to%20IUPUI?GID=ul9/gu66RjQzNB1XTyw0WxINuEg30ueOhD858bKmzoQ%3D Daniel Turner and DeAndre Davis are also mid-major prospects from Mount Vernon, good luck to Hubert and teammates it'll be a treat to follow their progress.

Here is another link from the Indianapolis Star with an update on Jack Isenberger from Zionsville. He has offers from Western Michigan and Miami and interest from Davidson, Butler, and Northwestern. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/08/isenbarger-deci.html

Brad Brownell is one of the best coaches in the business, and he's off to a strong start for Wright State's 2010 recriuting class. After already securing a commitment from Jeffersonville's Kegan Clark, Brownell stayed local this time around and received a commitment from Vandalia Butler's AJ Pacher. Pacher is a 6'9 forward with a nice stroke from three point range. He hit 43% from deep as a junior.

Here is a link to a recruiting rundown of top 2010 prospects in the mid-west. Some of the players mentioned include Trey Zeigler, Ray MacCallum Jr, Xavier Jones, Reggie Smith, Flavien Davis, Maurice Jones, Justin Martin, Mike McCall, Adriean Payne, Walter Pitchford, Storm Sanders, Colin Voss, and several others from Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and elsewhere. http://www.ny2lasports.com/Midwest2010prospectsontheboard.htm

Duke is getting involved in the Chasson Randle recruitment. They plan on evaluating him this fall at school. No offer has been extended yet but Duke is pretty stingy with offers to younger players so kids often let them in late. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page24.html

Decatur Eisenhower (Il) guard Jarod Oldham has been offered by Eastern Illinois. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/joldham1.html

Demling has a nice update on Taylor Wischmeier, a 6'7 forward from Brownstown. He was excellent for Team Southern Indiana 17U this summer and is drawing interest from rising Ivy League power Cornell, Tennessee Martin, Austin Peay, Belmont, and others.

http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/08/interest-grows-for-so-indiana-star.html

2010 Illinois HS recruit updates, other news and rumblings.

2009-08-11T09:52:00.009-04:00

The Hoops Report blog in the Sun Times has a wonderful article updating several key players who are being heavily recruited by high majors and mid majors from the Chicago area in the class of 2010. Here is the link for more of a breakdown and scouting report on them, but the most likely schools according to the Hoops Report are as follows... http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/

* Phillip Jackson 6'8 pf from Providence St Mel are Illinois State and Southern Illinois. He also says Jackson is considering Depaul, Marquette, Iowa State, and Providence.
* Mike McCall 6'1 combo guard from Foreman is most likely to go to Indiana State, Illinois State, Saint Louis, or Detroit. McCall enjoyed a recent visit to Illinois State.
* Jordan Threloff is a 6'9 forward from Dekalb is listed with a bunch of schools and no favorite including Depaul, Southern Illinois, Bradley, Western Michigan, Illinois State, and some others.
* Duje Dukan is a 6'8 forward from Deerfield who the Hoops Report thinks is high major quality but is slipping through the cracks and the schools best positioned to get him are Miami, UW Green Bay, William and Mary, George Washington, Evansville, Loyola, and Valparaiso.
* Reggie Smith is a 6'0 point guard from Harvey (Thornton) who had a huge July. Hoops Report says the five schools recruiting him hardest are UCLA, USC, Marquette, Depaul, and Indiana. Smith has no leaders and plans to take all his visits and then decide.
* Levonte Dority is a 6'1 point guard from Foreman who says Baylor, Indiana, New Mexico, South Florida, and Marquette are recruiting him the hardest.
* Dwayne Evans is a 6'5 wing from Nequa Valley who is rumored to be close to a Northwestern verbal. Hoops Report says the schools best positioned for Evans if that doesn't work out are Loyola, Drake, Toledo, Western Michigan, and Fairfield.

Jody Demling has some great "nuggets" to pass along today. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

* Indiana and Ohio State made the cut down to Rakeem Christmas' final 8 schools.
* Michigan has offered 6'8 forward Rod Odom who is being pursued by UConn and UL as well.
* Michigan hosted a visit from 6'11 class of 2011 center Marshall Plumlee of Warsaw, Indiana. Plumlee is going to prep school in North Carolina but visited Michigan recently. He has been on campus before and is being pursued hard by Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, and other schools of interest.
* Lawrence North forward and former Louisville commitment Justin Martin is hearing from Marquette, Kentucky, Xavier, Depaul, and other schools.
* Ricardo Johnson's offer list keeps expanding. He now has offers from Western Kentucky, Bradley, Ohio, Central Michigan, Drake, Duquesne, and Marshall.

* JD Weatherspoon committed to Ohio State. He played with the dominant All-Ohio Red squad this summer with several other OSU commitments. They disproved the silly notions around some other loaded AAU squads that too much talent makes it hard to win as they won almost every tournament they played in. http://bucknuts.com/index.php/Basketball-Recruiting-Article/buckeyes-land-basketball-commitment-from-jd-weatherspoon/menu-id-1346.html This Bucknuts article has some links to some video on "Air Spoon". Weatherspoon was committed to Xavier until Sean Miller left and opened up and has been pursued hard by several programs since then. Weatherspoon ironically will take the spot of a kid OSU gave the cold shoulder too to force open the spot. Cameron Wright has since had a much bigger summer and drawn scholarship offers from Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Wisconsin, and finally landed at Pittsburgh. It will be interesting to follow the careers of the two Ohio natives.

* Michigan hosted Marshall Plumlee and he told Sam Webb in a scout.com article he will be visiting Virginia later in the month and has already visited Florida and Indiana. The picture above is Plumlee taken in May by the Indinapolis Star's Rod Goebel.

* There is no such person as Dead Snow. This message will self destruct immediately after mentioning Dead Snow. Dead Snow is always watching.

* Future mega huge 2013 prospect Daryl Hicks has enrolled at North Oldham and says he is being recruited by Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Xavier, Missouri, and Butler already.

More Commitments and Recruiting Buzz.

2009-08-10T23:47:00.009-04:00

* The good Mongrel has served fair warning that Crishawn Hopkins was close to committing to Butler, and today Hoosier Hoops Report has confirmed he committed to the Butler Bulldogs. http://hoosierhoopsreport.com/

* The above link to Hoosier Hoops Report also has a story on TC Howe (Indianapolis) senior 6'8 small forward Jordan Manual as well as sophomore 5'7 point guard PJ Boutte both committing to Ray McCallum and University of Detroit. Here's a little more from the Indy Star's recruiting blog. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/08/howe-duo-decide.html Boutte is pictured above in an Indy Star photo.

* Detroit has also offered 6'5 wing Kyle Clevenger of Urbana HS. http://midstatehoops.com/v5/2009/08/07/clevenger-picking-up-offers/

* Another Midstate Hoops article with mention of Culver Military Academy's (Indiana) Travis Britt drawing recruiting interest from Dayton, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, and Drake. http://midstatehoops.com/v5/2009/08/07/culvers-travis-britt-very-happy-with-summer-basketball/

* Another move the good Mongrel warned about went down. Cameron Wright committed to Pittsburgh. Wright had been recruited heavily by Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan State, Cleveland State, and other programs after being given the cold shoulder from Thad Matta who needed a ride for Adriene Payne. Payne recently cut OSU from his list. OSU is thought to be in good shape with Xavier decommitment JD Weatherspoon to fill that ride. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/10/pitt-adds-cameron-wright-to-2010-class/

* While on the subject of decommitments, 2012 superstar Chase Behanon recently moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky from Cincinnati. This last week he has attended new hometown Western Kentucky University's elite camp and decommitted from Cincinnati. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/08/doors-open-for-behanan.html Cincinnati will still be considered. Apparently there is poor communication from Behannon's Bowling Green camp to his family in Cincinnati as there are disputed opinions on his decommitment. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/11/chane-behanan-rayvonte-rice-updates/

* The last NBE blot link in the Behannon blurb mentions Ravonte Rice will be visiting Drake on Wednesday.

* The Xavier Muskateers accepted a commitment from Jay Canty. http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=blog05&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3afdda4dab-ab39-43a7-8ba8-36da2f75a889Post%3a585f6ebb-be07-42a3-b03a-7dd0cb31be4a&sid=sitelife.cincinnati.com

* Bowling Green picked up a commitment from Cameron Black, a 6'9 kid from Roosevelt HS in Kent. http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/08/bowling-green-adds-black-to-list/

* Another High Major Scoop artricle, this time Rob Brandenburg update. Brandenburg is a 6'2 shooting guard from Gahanna, Ohio. He played with the Mustang Ballerz in the summer. According to the link, he is a 2010 prospect who is going to be taking visits this fall to his school list which includes Butler, Akron, Wright State, and Loyola. http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/08/1-word-rob/

Fergeson to FIU, and Dre Henley in Arkansas, other updates.

2009-08-08T08:49:00.009-04:00

* Dre Henley is a 6'6 small forward and considered one of the top players in Illinois in 2011, the Hoops Report has him as the second best player in the state in 2011. According to the recruiting guy blog Henley is playing well at the Arkansas elite camp. The photo at the right is from NY2LA's web site. http://recruiting.arkansasonline.com/index.php/2009/08/07/late-night-camp-tidbits/

* Former Indianapolis Lawrence North forward Dominique Fergeson has committed to coach Zeke Thomas at Florida International. Fergeson should be one of the most talented recruits ever to go to the Sun Belt. If Thomas gets him to stay for a few years he could really pay dividends.

* Indianapolis native Deven Williams claims offers from Indiana, Marquette, Oregon State, IUPUI, Indiana State and Southern Miss. He played this summer with the Naptown Ballers but is going to a prep school. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/08/illinois-wolves-16-u-team-has-big-east-targets/ Williams drew some great reviews in Merrillville at the End of Summer Slam when the Naptown Ballers made it to the championship game. Here is a description quoted from the link that follows from a report on him from an NC Tech game this February. "Devin Williams (NC Tech) - Led NC Tech to the victory. Williams is a 6' strong, athletic point guard. He handled the ball very well, and attacked the rim all game long. He was able to find open teammates off his dribble drives and was capable of knocking down three pointers (needs to improve consistency). Williams best asset was his combination of strength and breaking his defender down off the dribble; he displayed a nasty cross over and is a D-I lock.
" http://www.scoutsfocus.com/Articles/pattersontourney.html

* The above NBE blog link has video from several of the 16U Illinois Wolves including Nana Egwu, Jacob Williams, and Chasson Randle.

* The Nike Global Games are ongoing in Portland, Oregon and the Adidas Nations event is ongoing in Dallas, Texas. Both events have several players either from our neighborhood or being recruited by key schools. I haven't tried to keep up for the blog because most of those kids are top 50 national type of players and that isn't my focus here but check Oregonlive, Portland's wonderful newspaper the Oregonian has a web site and has box scores, updates, and video from several of the games. Kyrie Irving, Doron Lamb, and other players of local interest had big games yesterday at the Global Games.
http://highschoolsports.oregonlive.com/news/article/-1054256946684675396/the-nike-global-challenge-day-one-recap/ The Adidas Nations has its own website and will be posting the championship game live this evening at 6:30 PM. The semi-final game is at 3:30. http://www.eastbay.com/promotion/promoId:5003919/adidas-nations/?SID=6206&cm_mmc=Redirects-_-eastbay-_-adidasnations_-null/ USA 2010 will be playing Team Canada in the final. Several kids of interest to local schools and some local players are in the event including Marquis Teague (USA 2011), Devontes Smith-Rivera (Latin America), Cody Zeller (USA 2011), Mason Plumlee (USA 2011) and others.

* I have received word from someone that I normally trust that the above offers for Deven Williams to Marquette and Indiana might not be accurate, but unfortunately I still have no direct knowledge if they are accurate or not. The good Mongrel loves to dig up obscure links and rely on some regular sources such as NBE for hot off the presses updates on offers, school lists, visits, etc but just in case it isn't clear I want to underscore that when I say "so and so claims an offer" or "so and so tells so and so in this link they have an offer" I am not vouching for the accuracy of the information. Even if no kids exaggerated their offers, they are often so ambiguous that especially younger kids mix up "I want you to play for my school" and "I'm offering you a scholarship" and things like that. But when a kid claims an offer even if he is wrong you at least know that the school is recruiting him hard enough so that he thinks he has one and kids get offers all the time that the wisest observers didn't think they would so without direct knowledge to contradict a report I'll just pass them on and let people do what they want. If the Mongrel says "so and so has an offer" then the Mongrel believes they do. If the Mongrel says "so and so claims an offer" or "so and so told blog x he has an offer" then that's just what it is.

Crishawn Hopkins and Cameron Wright close to verbals? Other updates...

2009-08-05T21:47:00.017-04:00

* Mongrel favorite Crishawn Hopkins appears close to committing to Butler according to an Indy Star article. Hopkins is back playing for Manual (Indianapolis) and should have a huge senior year. He's about 6'0 and thin but has amazing hops (for you readers older than 35 that is a leaping reference not a brewing reference). Hopkins can shoot, handle the ball, distribute, he is explosive and should give Terone Johnson a run for his money as best player in Indianapolis in the 2010 class. I'm not sure he can defend like Johnson, but Hopkins is a talent and should have a big year. According to this Kyle Neddenriep article he has 15 offers and is still considering Wright State and Virginia. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/08/another-butler.html I set the video bar at the side to search "U.S.S.S.A. Nationals Slam Dunk" and there is a lot of video from the slam dunk competition there which Hopkins won. Photo from right is from USSSA Nationals last week.

* In any game, the counter-punch is critical. Big serves get all the attention, but the guy who puts the ball back in play is the one who is consistent. Louisville was planning on landing Fab Mello but that ship sailed. According to Mike Hughes of Editor and Publisher Louisville has turned to Rod Odom as a big in the 2010 class and offered this week. It is a premium article so I won't go into more detail, but check it out if you are a Card fan. Lots of times the guys who are juniors and seniors leading teams to the elite 8 or final four were not the first kid on the recruiting list. http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=2&c=885079 Odom is a 6'8 forward from Middlesex (Mass) School.

* NBE Blog has an update on Cleveland star Cameron Wright who is visiting Pittsburgh on Saturday and might be close to verballing with them. Wright told NBE that he had a good feeling about Pittsburgh but wanted to see it for himself. Michigan State, Indiana, and Wisconsin watched Wright quite a bit in July. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/06/big-east-visit-on-tap-for-cameron-wright/

* Redhawkinsider.com has an excellent free story on fast rising Ohio senior to be Jon Harris. Harris has grown six inches the last year and has found himself 6'7 with guard skills and several nice D1 scholarship offers. He plays for Twinsburg North High School and has starred for MBA Elite this summer. He says Miami is his leader right now but he also has offers from IUPUI, Loyola, Central Michigan, Kent State, Youngstown State, Wright State, Morehead State, and Northeastern. He is solid academically and very interested in Miami's business school. http://miamiohio.scout.com/2/885184.html

* Speaking of Miami, they also have offered Wisconsin forward Chip Rank. Rank visited Miami last weekend and plans on deciding before his first football game August 29th. He also has offers from Loyola, Northern Iowa, UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwuakee. http://www.wissports.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/blog.aspx?f=123

* Scroll down to the second entry on that last link to Mark Miller's Courtside blog if you are interested in Loyola (Chicago) recruiting. He lists four players in the class of 2011 with Loyola offers in his top ten Wisconsin player rankings. Milwuakee Hamilton's trio of Darnell Harris, Charles Lee, and Elgin Cook along with Merrill's Paul Jesperson have received scholarship offers from Loyola.

* Scroll down one more entry (I can't figure out the perma-links I'm limited) for some information on local schools involvement with Wisconsin 2010 players as well. St Catherine's 6'2 point guard Steve McWhorter has offers from Eastern Ky, Ball St, Eastern Ill, Indiana St, and others. Reid Koenen, a 6'7 wing forward from the Prarie School also has an Eastern Kentucky offer.

* Kenny Stevenson of Seton Academy (Illinois) committed to UI-Chicago today. Stevenson is a 6'2 shooting guard for First Step in the summers. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page22.html

* Jody Demling twittered that Mason County's Treg Setty has been offered by the University of Southern Illinois.

* Will Triggs of Edwardsville (Illinois) committed to Austin Peay today.
http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/willtriggs.html Triggs is a 6'6 senior to be who averaged 16 and 11 last year.

Commitments, Visits, and School Lists Update: 8/5

2009-08-05T09:07:00.015-04:00

6'6 Glenbrook North swingman Alex Dragecevich has had a big July for Full Package and seen his interest list and offers expand quickly. Dragecevich was second team all-state by the Sun Times last year and Chicagohoops has him ranked 12th in the class of 2010 in Illinois. He committed to Coach Mike Brey and joins point guard Eric Atkins in Notre Dame's 2010 recruiting class. Dragecevich is still a shooter first but has worked hard to be a legitimate high major wing and has developed an all around game this summer. It will be a blast seeing how he develops in South Bend and Notre Dame landed a deadly shooter. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/08/05/notre-dame-adds-dragicevich-to-2010-class/ Notre Dame is pursuing several elite targets still in the 2010 class including Ralston Turner, Tobias Harris, Kyrie Irving, and Jerian Grant among others.

Kentucky is expecting 6'7 Long Island wing forward Tobias Harris today on campus according to RumbaughD1 on twitter. Harris is being pursued by many of the top programs in the country including Notre Dame and Syracuse among others. Syracuse just beat out Louisville and Kentucky for 7'0 Florida Rams project Fab Mello. Since he was a bit of a new arrival and a novelty I think a lot of people nationally fawned over Mello excessively. He is talented and is going to be a wonderful pro in four or five years in my opinion but I see no reason to expect anything special out of him during his one or two college years. He was outplayed by younger and less talented kids in July including 2011 Louisville commitment Michael Chandler. If you do your player rankings by who is going to be high in the draft in two years he's your guy but if you're a college basketball fan he probably shouldn't be mentioned with the other five star type of guys in my never humble enough opinion.

Avon, Indiana 2012 big man Austin Burgett received offers from Iowa and Northwestern. He already had an offer on the table from Cincinnati and his recruitment is early but he has interest from Indiana, Purdue, Butler, Louisville, and others. Burgett is already 6'7 and growing and has reliable range to the three point line to go with several post moves and a good handle. He will be a hot commodity this time next year!

Burgett's Spiece Rising Star teammate Kellon Thomas received a Butler offer according to P-hoop.blogspot.com. http://www.p-hoops.blogspot.com/ Kellon is an outstanding point guard who is being pursued by several high major programs as well. He's about 5'9 and has a nice outside shot and gets to the hole at will. He also has the kind of handle and floor vision you hope to get from a point guard. Photo is from the USSSA Nationals last week.

Here's an outstanding rundown of stock raisers and post-July awards for Illinois kids from the Hendrickson Blog in the Sun Times (hoopsreport). http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/ He has nice comments on several 2012 Chicago area point guards, the 16U Illinois Wolves, the 17U Rising Stars team, UI recruits Leonard, Robinson, and Abrams as well as the talented 2013 trio of Parker/Hamilton/Foster who he says are not as good as Peter Jok of Des Moines! Good stuff as always from Hendrickson.

Here's a couple of links from chicagohoops. The first talks about Bolingbrook's Antwain Cox and his recent visit to Eastern Illinois. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/acox1.html The second talks about the top uncommitted point guards in Chicago in the 2010 class. Mike McCall, Levonte Dority, Jay Harris, Reggie Smith, Hoopy Jones, and Karl Madison are the ones focused in on. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/availbackcourt.html Several of these guys are going to high majors and will be among the "how did they get away" file from local schools.

Here's an Illinois Prep Bullseye link with a ton of nuggets. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page33.html They mention Evansville making Hayden Hoerdemann top priority, Peoria Irish 17U Jeff Johnson possibly favoring Eastern Kentucky, Walter Lemon from Chicago Fenger being pursued by Wright State, and Sean McGonagill being pursued by several programs. Also notice Hollis Hill and Aaron Williams drawing quite a crowd of head coaches from Bradley, Chicago State, Illinois State, Murray State and other schools after decommitting from UW Milwuakee. James Siakem was being watched by several schools including Notre Dame and Illinois while Threloff and Revonte Rice drew a big crowd including Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, and several others.

August Commitments and Recruting Updates:

2009-08-03T23:33:00.012-04:00

Hillcrest star shooting guard Eric Gaines committed to Gino Ford's Kent State program. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/gainesksu.html The Good Mongrel had some kind words to say about his game from the Hoosier Shootout and I believe this is a steal for the Golden Flashes. Gaines is a long athletic 6'4 wing player who can drive and plays hard on defense and is one of the most underrated kids in Illinois in my opinion.

Chicago Hoops' Brian Stinnette also has a trove of recruiting nuggets in this article http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/brianstinnette600.html Alex Dragecevich is visiting Notre Dame on Monday the 3rd. Stinnette says Brey was front and center for Dragecevich's games at the Adidas Super 64 and the End of Summer Classic and that Travis Ford flew in special to see him in the End of Summer Classic. He also mentions 2010 recruit Patrick Miller of Old Gold picking up a Tennessee State offer, updates the Mike McCall recruitment as Indiana State and St Louis head coaches watched him at Merrillville for the End of Summer Classic as well as California and Illinois State coaches and updates Nevada's pursuit of Ravonte Rice and other players.

Austin Etherington committed to Indiana University today. He is a 6'6 wing forward known for his excellent shooting stroke and big time leaping ability. He has been up and down some this summer in AAU playing with a new squad (Indiana Elite Team Indiana) and coming off micro-fracture surgery. Etherington is ranked #57 on scout.com. Fox Sports Jeff Goodman likes Etherington's game. http://community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/2009/08/03/north_carolina_iu_bama_all_snag_commitments

While we're linking up Chicagohoops we can't leave out the link to their update on 2012 Rockford Auburn point guard Fred Van Vleet who is being recruited by Depaul and Illinois at the End of Season Showdown where the 5'11 point guard was with Prymetime. Also included is an update on 6'4 Austin Angel who plays for Rockford Boylon and is being recruited by Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/rockford.html

Switching rust belt states from Illinois to Ohio, ESPN's Paul Biancardi has some nice words about several players for the All Ohio Red program which dominated the summer circuit this year at the 17U level and had strong finishes with the younger kids too. Biancardi also has a shoutout to Chad Jackson from Scott County, Kentucky who has impressed the humble Mongrel on more than one occasion. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4373610

Last week I mentioned the play of the NEO Ballers at the USSSA Nationals. They were outstanding and ended up winning the Division 2 bracket in the 16U age group. A Michigan State assistant was on hand to watch 6'7 athletic big man Anton Grady. Grady blocked a lot of shots and really seemed to get into the defensive dominance the Ballers were applying to the Illinois Predators when I was watching. Grady led Cleveland Central Catholic high school to the D3 state championship (Plain Dealer photo above from championship victory) and has excellent length and defensive presence. He's being recruited by Ohio State, Michigan State, Akron, Xavier, Ohio, and other fine programs. I'd read an article on Bucknuts about him after the Adidas Takes Five (unfortunately link is down) and he was playing with Friends for Life in Cincinnati. It was my first look at the NEO Ballers and I messed up a couple of the roster names on the blog post the other day but now I have it right. The kid I suspected was drawing Michigan State interest initially is named Jazel Garrett. He is a 6'0 combo guard from Akron Buchtel HS with crazy athleticism and excellent balance. He was all over the passing lanes and went in for the kill. Right now he's being recruited by Akron, Kent State, Wright State, IPFW, and Morehead State among others. I look forward to seeing these guys play again, it was my first look at them and they outclassed their opponents enough that I need to see them play some more but I was extremely impressed with my first viewing. The Lutheran East backcourt duo of Brian Burdine and Marques Coleman also impressed.

Illinois Wolves, All Ohio Red End Strong

2009-08-01T10:02:00.011-04:00

* The 16U Illinois Wolves won the 17U division at the End of Summer Classic in Merrillville. Nana Egwu and Chasson Randle were co-MVP's. The Wolves had to pull a rabit out of their hat to defeat a strong Terone Johnson game for Eric Gordon All Stars 17U team and were down six with a minute left but some Jacob Williams and Chasson Randle heroics clinched it for them. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/endseason10.html

* The 16U title was won by the Queen City Prophets featuring Xavier, Indiana, Ohio State, and Cincinnati target Aaron Thomas, seen here in a Courier Journal picture. The Prophets were coming off a tournament win in Mississippi last week according to the link. 15U was won by Prymetime as Rockville's Jacob Van Vleet was impressive. They beat the Eric Gordon Central Stars 15U in the semi-finals and then beat the Meanstreets 14U playing up a year (Alex Foster). The 14U tournament was won by another Meanstreets 14U team, the Wilbur squad who defeated Mac Irvin Fire. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/endseason11.html

* All Ohio Red won the 15U, 16U, and 17U division at the Orlando Nationals. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/eventreports/allohioredwin16unationals Elijah Macon, Traevon Jackson, Trey Burke, and Raphael Carter had excellent performances for the 16U squad according to the link. 17U defeated New York Gauchos for the championship sweep.

* The 17U All Ohio Red did beat an impressive Old Gold squad from Illinois in the round of 16 at nationals. This Illinois Prep Bullseye story discusses the Old Gold, RisingStars, and Illinois Kings squads who had a nice showing in Orlando. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page26.html

* The MVP of the state tournament in Kentucky has received an offer from Central Michigan. 2010 athletic 6'5 wing Ricardo Johnson has offers from Central Michigan, Bradley, Ohio, and Marshall along with interest from several high major schools. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/eventreports/ricardojohnsonpickingupoffers

* Michigan and Kentucky made the final seven for Casey Prather of the Nashville Celtics. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/08/uk-on-prathers-final-list.html

* Courtside blog has updates on a few Wisconsin kids who are being recruited by schools of note. Buzz Williams and a Wisconsin assistant took in a Wisconsin Playground Warrior game with JP Tokoto. Wisconsin and Iowa also had an assistant on hand for a Paul Jesperson game. Valparaiso is among the schools involved with Wisconsin Force 6'8 forward Robert Gilchrist. Josh Cameron is being recruited by UIC, SIU-Edwardsville, and Ball State.
http://www.wissports.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/blog.aspx?f=123

New Offers, Interest, Happenings in AAU world

2009-07-31T02:10:00.022-04:00

* Northstar Blog has done some great work getting word out on several tournaments this July as well as talking to several kids and getting quotes on their interest and offers. This link has breakdown for several kids from Ohio and Kentucky as well as several kids claiming offers and interest from area schools. Its from AAU Nationals Day Three: http://blog.northstarbball.com/2009/07/29/aau-super-showcase-day-three--u17-action-gets-underway-nyarsuk--reese-stand-out.aspx Some of the updates include:

* Northland, Ohio's JD Weatherspoon has offers from Xavier, Ohio State, and Maryland and seems to favor Xavier right now. You may recall he decommitted from Xavier after Miller left.

* Ball State has offered Devonte White from Centenial, Georgia.

* Indiana has offered 2011 Team Takeover's Michael Gbinijie.

* Xavier has offered Dezmine Wells of Word of God Academy.

* Westerville South and All-Ohio Red's 2011 Travaeon Jackson has offers from Ohio, Akron, Cleveland State, and Miami. He is Jimmy Jackson's son.

* Teays Valley and All Ohio Red 2011 player Nate Anderson has offers from Ohio and Penn State.

* And here's the day four http://blog.northstarbball.com/2009/07/31/aau-super-showcase-day-four-rundown-the-miracle-of-st-patricks.aspx with offers from Notre Dame to Jerrian Grant, from Wright State to Jordan Downing, Purdue, Illinois, and Minnesota offers out to Bradley Beal as well as Beal plans to go to Purdue and Illinois camps, some praise for Indiana, Kentucky, and Louisville target Stacey Poole's defense.

* Demling has been doing a great job as well, his latest update includes Scott County's Chad Jackson getting a James Madison offer, Princeton, Indiana point guard Jalen Packer getting offers from Tennessee Chattenooga and Southern Illinois. Demling is also looking for Austin Rivers to get Indiana involved in his re-recruitment. Hoopsreport's Coach Blevins spoke with Rivers and said he's going to visit "at least" Duke and North Carolina. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/eventreports/austinriverstovisitdukeandnorthcarolina

* Another link on some Orlando Nationals tournament success for Illinois Old Gold and Rising Stars from Illinois Prep Bullseye has updates on several players recruitment including Dekalb 6'10 senior Jordan Threloff who wants to decide soon and might favor Illinois State according to the link. Brehm Prep 6'6 athlete James Siakhem has drawn Southern Illinois, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Dayton, and Vanderbilt coaches recently. His Illinois Titans teammate Bruce Barron has interest from Vanderbilt as well. Barron impressed me earlier this month at the Hoosier Shootout, few college level point guards play with the kind of strength and athleticism he commands at a young age. Purdue, Northern Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, and Notre Dame are also very interested in Barron. The photo above is Barron from an Endtoendscouts.com article discussing his cousin Justin Dentmon among other things. Finally, Jay Harris from Illinois Old School received an offer from Duquesne. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page33.html

* According to Demling the Derek Smith All-Stars made it to the semi-finals (final four) of the Double Pump tournament in Los Angeles and had to leave for travel arrangements. Indiana Elite (Fox) without Ge-lawn Guyn made it to the elite eight of that tournament.

* All Ohio Red beat Nike Team Florida to win the AAU National tournament in Orlando. Bowling Green's Elijah Macon had 16 points. All Ohio Red 17U are in the quarter finals in Orlando as well.

* Coach Weber, Illinois State assistant Paris Parham, and Purdue assistant Jack Ray were the only coaches present for the championship victory Mac Irvin Fire 15U team which had Jabari Parker and Travis Hamilton playing up on it. http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/2009/07/a_whole_lot_more_from_las_vega.html

* The Illinois Wolves beat the Mac Irvin Fire 17U team yesterday in Merrillville. Chicagohoops listed the following head coaches as being in Merrillville on Thursday; Weber, Painter, Beilein, Brey, Craig Robinson, Todd Lickliter, Greg McDurmott, Travis Ford, Jim Les, Rick Majerus, Jim Molinari (W Ill), Billy Taylor (Ball St), and Kevin McKenna (In St). http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/endseason5.html The playoff teams are listed in the link but it doesn't say who is in the gold, silver, and bronze brackets. I'll update later in the day.

* GoldandBlack.com twittered that North Central shooting guard Terone Johnson had a huge game in Merrillville today finishing with 45 points! I'd be pretty surprised if Terone doesn't end up ranked in the top 50 with an expert or two after this summer.

* Mark Miller of Wishoops.net says Paul Jesperson has received an offer from Loyola and UW Green Bay and Port Wahington's John Gasser has added Maryland and Airzona State offers to his Northwestern, St Louis, Bradley, Butler, and several other existing offers.

* ESPN has a great review on Xavier Jones from Gary, Indiana from the Desert Duel.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4365943

* Another ESPN link, former Majerus assistant Paul Biancardi really likes the Rising Stars team from Illinois and gets the dirt, all four Rising Star senior to be studs have great academics. Ohio State bound Lenzelle Smith, Iowa bound Ben Brust, Cal bound Alex Rossi, and William and Mary bound Fred Heldring all have 3.0 or higher and the link also a review of Trey Lewis from Garfield, Ohio. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4363230

USSSA Nationals 7/30

2009-07-30T23:38:00.018-04:00

The Spiece Fieldhouse was home to some of the best talent in the country on Thursday and the Lucky Mongrel got to take in some of it and get lots of pictures, all of which taken about a quarter of a second after the players turned around. So it goes, but the basketball was not disappointing at all. There were ballots for the all-tourney team for the coaches and since I was denied the pleasure of a secret ballot, let me make mine publicly (with apologies to the guys i didn't get to see).

* I'll start my ballot off with 2012 Spiece Indy Star Ron Patterson (pictured on right). He was impressive as per usual. The 6'2 guard is a really dangerous scorer. He gets to the bucket on the drive and can jump up and shoot it quickly and he's usually on target. His athleticism around the basket can be really impressive. He seems to always have a few dunks or awe inspiring hang time plays and today was no different. His Spiece Indy Stars won their 10:30 bracket game 66-62 against the Fieldhouse Elite 2011 Knights. Patterson had 20 and was well on his way to another good game in the evening against Spiece Indy Heat (Felder). The Stars are playing up but still competing and winning. Jeremy Hollowell scored 11 and looked good as well.

*I'm not sure if I think he had one of the five best weeks there, but just off wow factor Marques Teague is probably gonna make my list. Teague has become a really strong leader on the floor. He makes some of the nicest plays I've seen a high school player make when he gets an angle to go to the bucket. He can take over offensively and defensively and is massively talented but might not be as consistently dominant as he could be. He has a decent looking shot, he is improving those two areas and be even better than he is already. I'll bet the high majors start recruiting him if he starts out his junior season strong. kidding, kidding... Spiece Indy Heat 2010 Betts defeated Team Southern Indiana ed 66-51. Ross, Wischmeier, Jeffersonville's AJ Adams were outstanding in defeat, and Teague was joined by an all star cast on his squad (Yogi Ferrel, DeJuan Marrero, Khristian Smith, Raphael Davis, AJ Hammons and more). I will double check on a couple of those TSI 17U names so as to avoid ridcule.

* I was just up there today so forgive me if the rest of the tournament went differently but Gary Harris was playing for a squad called Team Indiana. He is one of the 7 kids I'm calling the top prospect in the Indiana high school class of 2012 depending on day of the week. Harris is a superior athlete with long arms and is already becoming a special player. He could play point or wing, has a nice looking shot from three, and is young for his class if I remember correctly. The last time I caught him he got hurt for Up Tempo in a 15U game but was the best player on the floor. His game was at half time when I left so I don't have any stats for him. Harris, Patterson, Smith-Rivera, Hammons, and Marrero are on the rotation so far at least...vbg

* Ryan Taylor was outstanding for Spiece Indy Fastbreak and has to be on my first team ballot from today. The 2011 Lawrence North little power forward is well on his way to becoming the Louisville Cardinals wing forward. He has always been tough on the glass and fearless inside, but today I got to see him really attack the basket a lot more than I've seen off the dribble before. Taylor is handling the ball with more confidence than he was in the school year. Turner wound up with 22 points on the game. He was matched against a very impressive player Evan Cleveland wound up with 15 points and is probably was a little taller than Taylor but not quite as thick.

* Crishawn Hopkins was playing with the Blaze Select again. They had a chippy battle with Fieldhouse Elite Hoosier Boyz. Need to look up rosters, but #5 was good and competitive for the Hoosier Boyz and was probably a 6'4 kid with good length but Hopkins was in control. He elevates very high in the air when he shoots and it is a very smooth shot. He is a lot more than a leaper, the 6'0 Manual guard needs to put on some weight but he is fearless. Eastern Michigan and Ohio had coaches watching. I'll have to go with two points on my squad, put him on the first team.

* Other guys that were impressive included Yogi Ferrel was outstanding. He seems to be a little bigger but the urgent pace and intensity which he plays with is a real treat to watch. His recent Ohio State offer is well deserved. His teammate Raphael Davis looked good playing up. He had 16 points and played hard. He is always good, and consistently shows off some of his scoring prowess but today even though he was less dominant than he can be, he also did a much better job deciding when to pass the ball to a teammate and he limited the wild shots. Playing with a vocal point like Teague might be really good for the young Purdue star who looks to be 6'5 and strong. Bowman Academy's Dejuann Marrero was a treat to see as well. He controls the glass every time out and is an all effort kid with impressive ability in the paint and high major athleticism.

* Kenny Enoch scored 9 points and Evan Blackman had 14 for the Spiece Indy Fieldhouse who were eliminated 63-61.

* Travis Carrol and Donnie Hale were imposing for Spiece Indy Heat Down against Spiece Gym Rats Tolson. The Mongrel is a big fan of both players. Carrol particularly will be a very good power forward for Purdue. Unfortunately I just looked in a bit on this game and didn't get any stats.

* The NEO Ballers 16U squad were very impressive. A Michigan State assistant was on hand to see them crush the Illinois Predators. He most likely was watching Anton Grady, a 6'7 shot blocker who really got off the floor quickly. #14 Brian Burdine from Lutheran East High School is class of 2011 and is a very quick but thin 5'9 skinny point guard with amazing body control. They beat the Predators 81-41 and just terrorized them defensively. Thanks to coach Tom Coleman for getting me the updates on the roster.

* A sophomore to be Spiece Gym Rats Davis squad was in action on the adjacent court. They were led by #13 Jason Kalongi I believe who is going to be playing varsity for Bishop Leuers this year. #50 was about a 6'6 strong forward who had good form shooting to 15 feet for the Gym Rats. #52 Gregory for Fieldhouse Indy Impact was really impressive, he is about a 6'6 forward who likes to play defense with attitude. Nick Nimtz was another big kid who played well for the Impact.
* 2013 super phenom Daryl Baker scored 21 in a loss Wednesday to Team Indiana (Gary Harris). Logan Bailey (Bedford North Lawrence) added 20. This HoosierHillsHoops.com update has several other notes on Hoosier state prospects in the event. http://www.hoosierhillshoops.com/index.php

* Coaches were looking a little less bright eyed and busy tailed than they were on day one of the evaluation period a few weeks ago. IPFW Coach Dane Fife was on hand as were coaches from Evansville (straddling Spiece Indy Heat games at one point), Gardner Webb, Ball State, Michigan State, Northwestern, and others.

Mac Irvin Fire coming up big at Desert Duel and other updates.

2009-07-28T12:42:00.015-04:00

Desert Duel

* The Mac Irvin Fire had two squads in the final eight of the Desert Duel in Phoenix. The 17U squad made it to the semi-finals and the 16U squad played up and made the final eight in a brutal field. Several players came up big for the Fire on the road trip out west to Vegas and Phoenix. The 17U squad is led by Ahmad Starks at point guard. Starks is an Oregon State commitment and has been arguably the most consistently good player on the squad this July. Uncommitted super athlete Reggie Smith is being recruited by Marquette, Butler, and Indiana among others. He's a 6'0 point who can jump out of the gym and shoot some. The Sun-Times named him first team all state this year, that is their photo on the right from January of 08. Illinois commitments Myers Leonard and Jerome Richmond are among the Fire's better players and are even better college prospects. Its a pretty loaded team who had a chance to go out to Vegas and answer some critics by playing hard and making their mark on some good tournaments and they did exactly that. No hardware for the Fire on the west coast swing, but coming off fine efforts where they competed very well the Fire are set up well to finish strong at the End of Summer Classic in Merrillville this weekend. They can join the Illinois Warriors, Illinois Titans, Rising Stars, and maybe one or two other squads as the best from Illinois this summer. The Illinois Wolves have a lot of talent and will be at the End of Summer Classic also.

* Here's a nice feature from the Hendrickson Blog in the Sun Times on the Fire, particularly 2011 big wing Wayne Blackshear who is being recruited by Louisville, Illinois, Indiana, and other teams. http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/

* Petersberg Elite (Justin Coleman) defeated Nike Team Florida to win the tournament.

USSSA Nationals:

* Team Southern Indiana Red 17U went 1-1 in Pool play, beating Lithuania and losing to Spiece Gym Rats (Tolson). TSI was led by Garret Ross who scored 15. Hoosierhills twittered earlier that the 2012 squad lost to Northwest Ohio basketball Club 64-58 despite 14 from Max Clemons.

* The TSI 2011 squad includes 2013 star Daryl Baker. Jody Demling's blog said he had 28 points in a pool game yesterday. Hoosierhillshoops twittered that an Indiana assistant was on hand for one of his games yesterday. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

* I'll be up in Ft Wayne Thursday morning and afternoon and either back there on Friday or in Merrillville for the End of Summer Classic on Friday depending on the brackets. Let me know if there is someone I need to see. I'll be taking photos for the blog and might get some video.

Double Pump Best of Summer (LA)

* Ohio Basketball Club 17U went undefeated in pool play at the Double Pump tournament in LA per Buckeye Prep twitter. The 17U club is being watched by Akron, Bowling Green, Cleveland State, Ohio, Notre Dame, and other schools.

* Indiana Elite (Fox) is 3-0 in pool play without Ge-lawn Guyn who hurt his ankle. No word on the injury yet other than it is getting x-rayed. Best of luck to a Mongrel favorite. Guyn is a long armed competitive athlete who will be a good player at Charlotte in the Mongrel's opinion. Indiana Elite (Fox) will probably focus more on the inside game with 6'8 Bloomington South forward Eric Fromm. Fromm is versatile and has a little range and will be a lot of fun for Butler fans to watch for four years.

* The Derek Smith All Stars 16U team (Abel, Fant, others) went 3-0 in pool play per Demling blog (link above).

Orlando Nationals:

* Shining Star MacFarland went undefeated in pool play yet again. They did not loose a pool game all summer long, a unique but cool accomplishment. Shiningstarsportsblog has results from several Shining Star games from different squads and age groups. Josh Sewell and Chad Jackson are the two most impressive players on the team in the good Mongrel's opinion. They are both big guards who can score and distribute the ball and both have the athleticism to help a team in a lot of ways. Miami got a steal in Sewell.

* Coach Blevins got a good look at Elisha Justice, he's one of Kentucky's hidden gems at point guard. He is playing for Derek Smith All Stars and the link says he is interested in Morehead State and other schools. Hoopsreport.com has rundown on several players including him. Something is amiss with my cut and paste function so I'll have to remember to come back and edit in the link but chase it down if you have to. Entry is called "Tuesday Morning and Afternoon Notes".

Desert Duels, Double Pumps, and more AAU action.

2009-07-27T23:12:00.015-04:00

Double Pump Best of Summer

Several notable teams are participating in the Adidas Double Pump tournament being held in LA (the town not the bayou in case I had you craving crawfish etoufee...). Some big national names are there like I-5 Elite, Memphis Select, Louisiana Future, Playaz Basketball Club, DC Assault, I Can All-Stars, Pump N Run Elite, and many more. There will be plenty of mid-west-rust-belt-southish region teams are participating as well. Illinois Old School, Team Kentucky, D1E Derek Rose All Stars, Indiana Elite, Ohio Basketball Club, Derek Smith All STars, Reach Legends, and more.

Hoosierhillshoops is twittering that Evan Maschmeyer of Jeffersonville, Indiana had 15 in a pool victory over the West Coast All Stars. Maschmeyer is playing for the Derek Smith All Stars and is being recruited by Wright State and other solid programs. The photo is from a Courier Journal story that includes Evansville, Wisconsin, and Eastern Illinois as schools of interest for Maschmeyer as well. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/labels/Evan%20Maschmeyer.html

Buckey Prep says D1E All Stars have added Kenny Knight 2010 from Ohio along with Ryan Taylor and Michael Chandler who have also played with Spiece Indy Fastbreak squads this summer.

Desert Duel

Mac Irvin fire 16U opened with a 61-53 win against Full Court Athletes.

NBE blog has the scoop on several high profile kids including Dominique Fergeson, Trey Zeigler, Reggie Smith, and Brandon Kearney who has offers from Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State already. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/07/27/nbe-live-from-desert-duel-memorial/

Orlando Updates

Nationals have started and Shining Stars McFarland 17U won their first pool game and Scott County combo guard Chad Jackson had 15 points. They bounced back from a tough loss to end a nice Super Showcase run to the final eight.

Meanwhile the Super Showcase is wrapped up as Team Takeover won at the 17U and 16U level according to northstarblog.

Illinois Titans won the 17U Silver Bracket. They are mostly younger kids but have several big strong athletic kids such as Ochenje and Siakhem.

Here is a link to an article from NBE blog wrapping up the Super Showcase. It has some notes on Rising Stars games, including updates on Alex Rossi and Ravonte Rice. Rice has a long list of offers from mid-majors and a couple of high majors but is catching the attention of several Big Ten schools now (Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota) among other schools. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/07/27/sunday-at-the-aau-super-showcase/ There is also updates on Illinois and Purdue target Bradley Beal.

Look Back at Vegas (Yes the Town Turned off the Lights Sunday Night):

Hoopsreport has some updated school lists and scouting reports from Wayne Blackshear, Xavier Jones, Mike Shaw, Trey Zeigler, and several other top national prospects. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/eventreports/vivalasvegasnewsandnotes

They also have a nice rundown on Sterling Gibbs recruitment (Indiana and Depaul offers per this article) and also Bishop Daniels who is a Xavier target. Both are 2011 recruits. Gibbs is planning on doing unofficial visits to Kentucky and Indiana among others this August. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/eventreports/recruitingnewsandnotesfromreebok

More Tournaments Underway this week:

The Price Chopper gets underway Tuesday and will feature All-Iowa Attack Red, Meanstreets, Illinois Warriors, St Louis Eagles, and other fine squads.

USSSA Nationals in Fort Wayne will have a loaded field as will the End of Summer Shootout in Merrillvillle. Look for Hoopsmongrel to get some pictures and some game reports from Ft Wayne on Thursday and Merrillville on Friday.

Kentucky and Michigan squads win tournaments, more

2009-07-26T12:25:00.015-04:00

Several teams of note made the semi-final round or more yesterday including a couple of championships worth mentioning.

* 17U Reebok Championships went to Dominique Fergeson and Ray McCallum and Team Detroit. Trey Zeigler had 16 points for the winners. They beat D-One Sports (Quincy Miller) 56-48 in the title game. (photo is Zeigler from Detroit News)

* The Ville won the Adidas Super 64 championship in the 14U division. Jody Demling has a nice rundown of some of their best players. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html When I got a chance to see them at the Kentucky Hoopfest I was pretty blown away by Daryl Hicks and Jason Hatcher. Demling said Hicks had 26 points in the championship game and Hatcher was the MVP with a boat load of rebounds. He and Hicks look about 20 years old, they're so much more mature than the other 14U players I saw. Hicks is the best player in the age group I've seen so far (2013). He has a nice three pointer to go with getting a layup whenever he wants. Hicks was also the leading scorer in the Top 150 camp held in Lexington in June for the country's top incoming freshmen. He'll play for Shelbyville. Hatcher is also pretty strong and a good athlete.

* 16U Indiana Elite/Team Indiana had to forfeit the championship game to Southern Kings Gold because they misunderstood when the game would be played if they made it that far. Jeremiah Davis and Austin Etherington continued picking up their games from many reports over the weekend.

* 16U Derek Smith All Stars lost in the final four to the Southern Kings Gold squad. Demling's link above has Remy Abel and George Fant continuing to have big months and more and more coaches trying to figure out if they are good mid major recruits or high major recruits. Demling said Fant added an Ohio offer to Western Kentucky and Oklahoma State. But those kids have a lot of good players. Elliot County's Tommy Knipp, Jordan Shanklin, Clark county's Robbie Stenzel, and Jeffersonville, Indiana's Evan Mashmeyer are all kids who can play.

* SYF Players have advanced to championship game in Center Stage event in Vegas, more on this one in the morning hopefully...

* Bloomington South made it to the final four of the Main Event. Hugh Kellenberger's Quick Hits blog has been all over this. http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/quickhits/ I also posted a link to Demling's story on them for the CJ on yesterday's tourney update.

Illinois Wolves Champs in KC, Other Tourney Updates

2009-07-25T19:20:00.020-04:00

Hoops City Classic Completed

* The Illinois Wolves 16U squad came away from the Hoops City Classic as champions. They are one of the most talented squads in the age group nationally. Purdue, Illinois, and Wisconsin are among the many schools pursuing Chasson Randle and Nana Egwu who both made the all tourney team. Rock Island point guard Chasson Randle was MVP. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page11.html Photo is from QC Times article.

* Spiece Mokan out of Kansas City won the 15U division.

Adidas Super 64 (Vegas):

* The D1E Derek Rose Elite 17U squad is the only team from the Mongrel's radius (Ky, In, Il, Oh, MI) still active in the gold bracket. They play the Compton Magic Saturday evening to make the semi-finals.

* Indiana Elite/Team Indiana made it to the quarter-finals on the backs of a 24 point effort by Austin Etherington to beat DC Triple Assault per Mike Pegram twitters. They then beat 43 Hoops (Carr) by 1 to make the semi-finals.

* The above link from Illinois Prep Bullseye also mentions Chicago Elite sharp shooter Duje Dukan of Chicago Elite getting an offer from Loyola. Chicago Elite lost

* The Derek Smith All Stars 16U squad is in the semi-finals after beating the Michigan Mustangs. They'll meet the Southern Kings Gold squad for a chance to play in the championship at 1:00 Vegas time.

* Indiana Elite/Team Indiana 15U lost in the semi-finals against the Atlanta Celtics. Peter Jurkin had 15 points in an afternoon victory.

* Ohio Basketball Club 15U lost to Team Philly for a right to play in the semi-finals of the same bracket.

* The Ville 14U squad is playing for the championship of the 14U bracket in the morning. The Ville has Shelby County incoming freshman super star Daryl Hicks and got 25 out of Pruitt in a double overtime victory against Dream Vision earlier on Saturday.

Super Showcase (Orlando):

* Also from above Illinois Prep Bullseye link the 17U Illinois Warriors went 3-0 in pool play at the Super Showcase in Orlando. The Illinois Kings also went 2-1 in pool play and won their pool in a tie breaker.

* Rising Stars Gold won their pool and then stunned All Ohio Red in the first round of bracket play Saturday evening to eliminate Sullinger and company. I might have spoken too soon on the elimination thing, this ESPN link kind of suggests All Ohio Red has a golden parachute in this one because of the tv deal (ESPN will broadcast several games on Sunday from 5-9). I'm not sure if the writer was being presumptuous that All Ohio Red would make it or if they are carved into the schedule no matter what. http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/news/story?page=risegames/aaupreviews/4355375

Reebok Summer Championships:

* ESPN had some nice things to say about Ray McCallum Jr and Walter Pitchford from the Reebok Create and Finish. The Create and Finish Classic is just a mutated Super Pool type of arrangement and all the clubs are reseeded in the larger tournament afterward. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4355793

* Despite having a useful web site, don't ask me to explain all the strange brackets that don't fit together in the Reebok tournament. Grand Rapids Storm is still alive (Anderson) and if they win Saturday Evening against Belmont Shores the Storm will be playing for the championship of the "A" bracket in the morning for a chance to play against another bracket champion for the "A" division championship.

Vision Sports Main Event (Vegas):

* The Main Event has been the hardest to track online as their web page is a mess, but Hugh Kellenberger of the Bloomington Herald Times has twittered that the Bloomington South High School Panthers have made it to the semi-finals in the 17U champions bracket (final 4). The Panthers are coming off an undefeated season and are led by 2010 Eric Fromm (Butler commit), 2011 Dee Davis (Xavier commit), 2011 Matt Carlino (Indiana commit), 2011 Spencer Turner, and 2012 TJ Bell who are also being pursued by high majors. Here's an update from Thursday morning, Demling did a nice story on them. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090725/SPORTS11/907250351/It+s+been+viva++Las+Vegas+for+Bloomington+South+basketball+team

* Mac Irvin Fire went 2-1 in pool play after loss to Seattle Rotary. The Fire have other squads playing on the "Center Stage" event which I'm currently wrapping my head around and will try to find information on it in the morning. This Chicagohoops link has some breakdowns of which of the 2 17U and 1 16U squads have whom on their teams. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/firevegas.html

* Also, the thorough Mongrel is trying to keep an update on which coach is watching who and where from free sources only (sorry no scout, rivals, hoopmasters stuff on this one). Email me if you saw somebody somewhere and Il'l update it. Its an earlier post that I keep editing.
http://hoopsmongrel.blogspot.com/2009/07/who-is-your-school-watching.html

All Ohio Red 17U Stumble, other AAU Updates 7/25.

2009-07-25T11:17:00.017-04:00

* The summer's most dominant AAU squad just lost their final pool game in the Supershowcase in Orlando. All-Ohio Red has been an Ohio State future preview with several commits on the squad among All-Ohio Red's top players and with more targets on the roster. This morning the New Jersey Celtics upset them in bracket play. Kyrie Irving scored 22 of the Celtics' 57 points and controlled the ball most of the time against a much bigger and stronger All Ohio Red squad which has now lost 9 games in 3 years. He played yester day for the NJ Roadrunners so good luck to Indiana and Notre Dame and the other coaches chasing Irving in Orlando. Adreiene Payne and JD Weatherspoon have been priorities for the Buckeyes after they gave Cameron Wright the cold shoulder. But Wright is blowing up now that he is healthy and Payne just released a school list of Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, Michigan State, and West Virginia. Ohio State has also made a move on Griffin McKenzie who is playing with the Eric Gordon All Stars in Vegas right now. The sorrowful Mongrel was rooting for Dayton to come out ahead with Payne to end up with a top 5 class with those amazing guards and Hill but it appears not to be in the cards. http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/ud-eliminated-from-jefferson-stars-plan-220505.html Photo of Payne is from this Dayton Daily News Article.

* Spiece Select 2011 lost a one point game to Louisiana Select in the 16U semi-finals and will begin play in nationals. They have D1 prospects up and down the roster including Kendall Griffin, Tony Springmann, Tory Nibbs, Eric Harris, and Zach Van DeWater among others. They will be sticking around in Orlando for the 16U nationals which begins today.

* We've written a little about Common Bond's two 2010 squads a few times but yesterday it was their 2011 who beat the Spiece Indy Stars 2012 squad in bracket play at the Hoops City Classic. Patterson and Hollowell had huge games in the loss for the Stars. The Stars will finish up July with the USSSA Nationals in Fort Wayne next week.

* I followed illinoishsbball and a couple of other people doing twitter updates with the Mac Irvin Fire last night and they have apparently turned it on big time. They've been criticized for having a ton of talent but coming up soft in all the big tournaments when they go national. They did lose the game, but I've seen a lot of praise for their play in Vegas. Guards Ahmad Starks and Reggie Smith had big games again. Seattle Rotary is a pretty similarly loaded team who has yet to win a big tournament and they got big performances from point guard Troy Wroten (2011) and UK prospect Josh Smith who coming into the summer was being talked about as the top kid nationally for 2010. Smith dominated Myers Leonard in the game. The 6'11 skilled Leonard is one of several Illinois commitments on the squad, Mac Irvin Fire is as much an Illinois farm team as All Ohio Red is an Ohio State farm team this summer but despite his bulking up the last few months being matched up against big mean centers like Smith or All Ohio Red's Sullinger is not his forte. Leonard has a bright future but it might translate better to college ball. Mac Irvin has lacked a go to guy in the big games, Reggie Smith coming up big down the stretch in their last two games is a great sign for them if they are to finish with a bang.

* Indiana Elite (Fox) lost 61-57 this morning to Minnesota Pump N Run at the Adidas 64. The Fox squad has Butler commit Eric Frohmm who is playing double duty with his high school team in the Main Event. Indiana Elite was led by several big games from Charlotte commit Gelawn Guyn.

* The 16U Michigan Mustangs won big over Omaha Crusaders 80-52 at the Adidas Super 64.

* Also this morning at the Adidas 64 Grandy Glaze and the 16U Ohio Basketball club lost to Virginia Assault 57-53.

* The Derek Smith All Stars with Abel and Fant won their bracket game at the Adidas 64 by a score of 59-56 over Arizona Premier Black.

* 15U action at the Adidas 64 is finishing up as some people's top player in the class Shabazz Muhammed led his Dreamvision squad over Derek Rose All Stars 78-65.

* 17U Illinois Warriors beat the Georgia Blazers in a tight one this morning in Orlando as well.

* Louisville at 16U championship in Orlando between Spiece Indy Fastbreak 2011 and Each 1 Teach 1 game per Northstar blog twitters.

* KC Hoops City Classic wrapping up today. Semi-finals are set and Common Bond 17U squad is in the semi-finals. Dominique Pointer is a 6'5 guard for Common Bond who has been turning heads. http://theshiver.com/2009/07/day-2-3-highlights-from-the-hoops-city-classic-top-24/ Be sure to check out the Marques Teague highlights as well.

* Mike Pegram of Peegs.com is twittering that Indiana and Michigan target Moses Morgan had 28 points in a win against in front of Indiana and Oklahoma assistants. Pegram also posted that Indiana Elite One 2011 (Zeller, Plumlee, Carlino, Gant) won their morning game and will face the tough DC Assault this afternoon.

* Scout.com's Evan Daniels says Mick Cronin watching JJ Moore.

* Illinoishsbball is twittering that Alex Dragecevich has picked up his third major offer in three days. Notre Dame, Xavier, and Oklahoma State have stepped up and offered the Chicago swingman.

* Culver Millitary Academy point guard Travis Britt had 10 points for Indiana Elite/Team Indiana 15U in a morning win. They play the Derek Smith All Stars 15U to advance to semi-finals of 15U Adidas Super 64.

* Spiece Indy Fieldhouse Elite lost in the championship game of the 16U Super Showcase in Orlando.

* Spiece Indy Heat 17U (Felder) with Purdue commitments Donnie Hale and Travis Carrol is in the championship game of the gold bracket at Kansas City Hoops City Classic per Goldandblack.com twitter.

* Bennie Seltzer watching Indiana Elite Team Indiana 16U win to get into the quarterfinals at 16U Adidas 64 per Demling. He said Jeremiah Davis was great.

* Pitino watching Quincy Miller in Vegas as well per Demling twitter.

* Mike Brey and Indiana, Calipari among a host of schools watching Team Final, led by Gilchrist and Christmas, against NJ Celtics in Orlando with Kyrie Irving and the rest of Gilchrist and Irving's high school teammates per Northstar blog. NJ Celtics ended up winning the game in overtime, beating Team Final and All Ohio Red in the same day. Irving went 20/20 from foul line.

* Indiana Elite One lost by 21 to DC Assault.