2010 Mongreltopia Top 50

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.

More Commitments and Recruiting Buzz.

* 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/

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

* 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, De-Commitments, Offers, and Favorites 7/17

July is not only the busiest recruiting month of the year with AAU tournaments galore and open evaluation periods for the coaches to get out and see and be seen but kids are committing, de-committing, and schools who have been aggressive on the recruiting trail are filling up their rides and moving on to evaluate younger players.

Yesterday's biggest commitment was Simeon's Brandon Spearman going ahead and pulling the trigger to join Dayton's loaded 2010 class. Berry is an extremely talented kid from Lafayette Jeff and early favorite to lead Indiana in scoring this year and Spearman and Staten are ranked among the nation's top 100 players by several evaluators. Brian Gregory is landing one of the finest recruiting classes in the country in 2010 and isn't done yet.

Zach McCabe of the All Iowa Attack Red squad committed to Todd Lickliter's Iowa Hawkeyes after outperforming many of the nation's top players at a few July events and drawing the attention of the rest of the big ten and many other schools.

Chicago Vocational stars Hollis Hill and Aaron Williams on the other hand de-committed from UW-Milwaukee. Their Illinois Old School squad was tracked heavily by several other good programs and plenty of high majors for Jay Price and some other players. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/uwm2.html Above photo of Hill is from Sun Times. The outlook isn't bleak for UW-M though, at the Triple S Mountan Slam Taevaunn Prince told Northstarblog UW-M was his favorite and has been showing him the most love to date. Prince is an outstanding player for Team Takeover (Canada) who has been one of the best travelling teams on the circuit this July and looked very good against Florida Future at the Kentucky Hoopfest in front of yours truly. http://blog.northstarbball.com/2009/07/16/triple-s-harley-davidson-hoop-group-jam-fest-days-one--two-news--notes.aspx

Commitment issues were not only the problems of the college coaches, AAU squads gearing up for Las Vegas have been harvesting players from other squads as well. Yesterday I mentioned the Eric Gordon All-Stars added Crishawn Hopkins to their roster for Vegas. Today word has tweeted out that Jeremy Hollowell of Spiece Indy Stars 2012 will be joining them as well. Hollowell unlike Hopkins was already on a team winning tournaments and drawing hordes of coaches and his improvement from May to July has seen him earn offers from Cincinnati, Indiana, Ohio State, and several others. Hollowell has not announced if he will be returning to the Stars after Vegas or playing with someone else next year.

Cameron Wright had been one of the high profile guards pursued by Brian Gregory of Dayton, but they might be focusing on a big kid such as Adreiene Payne or Jordan Manual for their last ride. Wright is having an enormous July after drawing great reviews at the King James Classic and NY2LA Summer Slam last week. He has added a Michigan State offer to his growing collection according to a Badgernation.com article from yesterday. Wisconsin, Indiana, Akron, and Cleveland State are the other schools listed as offers.

Chris Anderson of Reeths-Puffer, Michigan is an athletic 6'5 wing who made waves this spring when his Grand Rapids Storm team came up big in the Tulip Tree Classic and other tournaments. He has an offer on the table from Stoney Brook. http://www.westmiallstar.com/2009/07/11/whos-going-to-play-ball-in-college/#more-1301

The previous article mentions Kalamazoo's Jeff Hoskins of Camp Daryl All Stars has received a Moorehead State offer. I saw him at the Hoosier Shootout and he was very impressive making hustle plays to save the ball from going out of bounds and knocking down three pointers in rhythm while leading his team with poise at the point guard position. He has D1 athleticism.

The above link to Northstar blog has a few updates on offers to some outstanding players from local teams. Team Takeover's 6'10 300 pound center Maurice Walker is a 2010 prospect listing an offer from Depaul. And 2011 standout Grady Glaze is listing an offer from Xavier and Ohio State interest.

Northstar has updates on a few players of note as well. Ohio Basketball Club and Scott County (Kentucky) forward Dakota Euton (former UK commitment) has offers from Akron, Eastern Kentucky, Oregon State, and others. His AAU teammate Nick Kellogg from Columbus is also drawing a lot of interest this July. He lists Ohio as a favorite right now but said he has offers from Akron, Miami, and Wright State right now and is open to new interest in July before he decides. Several Big Ten programs are tracking him closely as he plans on visiting Northwestern and was at the recent Ohio State elite camp and has Iowa and Indiana keeping tabs on him.

Chicagohoops is also reporting that Sean McGonagill of the Illinois Kings has picked up an offer from North Dakota. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/kings2.html He plays school ball for Riversville-Brookside. You might recall McGonagill was co-mvp of the Hall of Fame Showdown in Chicago in April and he has continued his fine play into July. He also has interest in Eastern Michigan.

Tourney/Recruiting Updates and Link-O-Rama 7/16

Eric Gordon All-Stars won the Best of the Midwest tournament and Purdue commitment Terone Johnson won MVP as he continues turning heads this July. Here is a Monday notebook on the tournament from Hoosier Hills Report, I will recap the tournament's later action in other updates. http://www.hoosierhillshoops.com/index.php

Jorddan Myrick of the West Michigan Lakers got an offer from Ernie Zeigler's Central Michigan program. http://www.westmiallstar.com/tag/grand-rapids-storm/

According to Coach Chris Hawkins the Spiece Indy Stars 2012 players continue to get new offers after winning the Kentucky Hoopfest, Hoosier Shootout, and making the finals in the 16U division at Best of the Midwest. Sullivan's Rhett Smith was offered by Deleware and 6'6 Indianapolis wing Jeremy Hollowell received offers from Illinois and Xavier. Photo is from GoldandBlack.com's Brian Neubert 7/8/09.

Club Ohio Purple and Indiana Elite Team Indiana were in the semi-finals of the gold division at the 15U AAU nationals in Clarksville.

Hoop Dreams is in the 15U semi-finals in the West Virginia Mountain Jam according to Jody Demling. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html Scott County's Tameron Manning and Jaylen Beckham are playing for them.

NYC point guard Sterling Gibbs plans on taking August unofficials to five schools and decide this summer. Two of the schools are Kentucky and Indiana. Kentucky target Doron Lamb is also close to a decision and wants to visit Oklahoma and Kansas before deciding in the next couple of weeks per Zagsblog. http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/07/15/sterling-gibbs-may-decide-this-summer-team-njabc-wins-joe-brown-memorial-tournament/#more-19245

Tom Crean released his travel list on Twitter and we can deduce he was in Clarksville likely watching Indiana Elite's Devontes Smith-Rivera and company during their run to the semi-finals in the loaded 15U national tournament. Other Indiana targets at the event include SYF Players (they played their last game at 12 on Tuesday right before a 1:15 Indiana Elite). SYF's Edward Seay and Smith-Rivera are along with Ron Patterson, DeJuan Marrero, and probably Jeremy Hollowell top Indiana targets for 2012.

Alex Jesswain from Marquettehoops.com was twittering from the NY2LA Summer Jam and was clearly blown away with performances from Cleveland's Cameron Wright and Gary's Xavier Jones. Here is a link to his recap from last week's NY2LA Invitational, and we look forward to updating this article if he recaps the Summer Jam. http://marquette.scout.com/2/878421.html

Players getting buzz from this event include Vander Blue, Flavien Davis, Moses Morgan, Branden Dawson, Jay Harris, John Gasser, Jalen Kendrick, Dominique Fergeson, and many many others. If not for being run at the same time as the Peach Jam this event would likely jump out as one of the most loaded of the year. Team Detroit won the 17U bracket but look for some wrap ups from this event coming soon.

Here is a link to a wonderful article by the Indianapolis Star's Nedenmeier.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090715/SPORTS0615/907150326/1361/SPORTS0615/Shorter+prospects+try+to+measure+up He strikes a blow for the little man. He updates the recruiting picture of Yogi Ferrel (Butler offer), Kellon Thomas, Nic Moore, Michigan target DJ Ballantine, Ronnie Johnson, and PJ Boutte. These kids are sooo good in the Mongrel's opinion that a small growth spurt between now and next year will put any of them with high major offers. Some of them will make it anyway.

Ohio Uncommited Prospects Get New Interest

2010:


Griffin McKenzie has had a huge month so far in July, he claims new offers from Tennessee, Xavier, Cincinnati, Northwestern, Providence, and has had several coaches watching including Ohio State and Indiana. This Indy Star link has some updates on his recruitment. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/07/offers-rolling.html


Cameron Wright has had a huge July as well. He had several great reviews at the LeBron Skills Academy and recently visited Indiana with his parents. He plans to visit Wisconsin and Georgia Tech with his parents before deciding. Wright was outstanding at the NY2LA Summer Jam.

Adreiene Payne might be a bit over the head of our under-hyped label, but he has continued to be a hot name on the recruiting circuit. He has had interested followers from all over the Big Ten and is being hotly pursued by his hometown Dayton Flyers who have a top 2010 recruiting class already lined up.

Peshown Howard, Queen City Prophets 6'6 Allen Payne, and Ohio State and Xavier target JD Weatherspoon are other players to keep an eye on.

2011:

Cameron Lee is a 6'3 wing for Lakota East. His dad Ralph played for Xavier. Cameron has been to Miami and Xavier's elite camps this summer. http://www.miamihawktalk.com/home/recruits/player/10351/

Isiah McCular turned some heads at the Kentucky Hoopfest. He's a 6'9 kid who is already pretty strong with decent hands and is fundamentally solid. He didn't have much trouble against 7'0 Deng Leek and Cheir Ajou in a game the Mongrel got to see.

Zach Price is a 6'10 power forward from St Edwards who visited Louisville the same day as Shaw and Blackshear. He has been having a great summer. He has interest in Ohio State and Michigan State (Roe's teammate) and has been a hot name this summer. He's another guy who'll probably wind up top 50 nationally.

Aaron Thomas is a 6'4 guard from Western Hills who had a big week at the Kentucky Hoopfest for the Queen City Prophets. He is getting recruited by Xavier, Indiana, Ohio State, and Cincinnati.

Guys to keep an eye on would be Club Ohio (Calahan)'s 6'3 Job Jennings, Jakar Sampson from Akron and King James Shooting Stars, 5'6 point guard Stevie Taylor from Strongville and Ohio Basketball Club's Aaron White a 6'7 forward, and others.


2012:


Ken Kaminski has had Tom Crean and Tom Izzo taking in Team Pride games and appears stronger than he did in May. He won't have to wait long for some big time offers to come through.

Dylan Kaufman had quite a following at the Adidas It Takes Five tournament in Cincinnati. Tom Crean and an assistant from North Carolina were on hand for his game against CBIZ in Cincinnati and according to Miami Hawk Talk he has visited Akron, Butler, Miami, and Ohio State so far. http://www.miamihawktalk.com/home/recruits/player/10351/

Jalen Robinson is a 6'7 kid from Columbus who recently received an offer from Kent State.

Other names to watch are Dublin's Kyle Molok, Brampton's Moehmad Rage, and Davon Scott.

2013:

Matt Loving is a 6'6 forward from Toledo who was a standout at the Top 150 incoming freshman camp in Lexington in June.

Let me know who needs to be added to the list of the uncommited kids.

Day 3 evaluation period update...

Hoosier Shootout Updates:


Donnie Hale went for 20 and 9 in an overtime loss for Spiece Indy Heat 17U Felder. Spiece Indy Stars 15U won big. Several Illinois teams won, more notes following in an update soon.


Adidas It Takes Five Updates:

Indiana Elite (Fox) in finals of 17U winner's bracket after defeating Grassroots Canada. Butler commit Eric Fromm with a big game.

Indiana Elite Orange is in a close battle late in the game against outstanding Baltimore/DC area power Triple Threat. Matt Carlino getting great reviews. Highmajorscoop twittering that Carlino runs like a deer and Zeller, Plumlee and Justin Gant looking good.

Derek Smith All Stars 16U with suddenly hot prospects George Fant and Remy Abel beats Indiana Elite (Dee and Jeremiah Davis squad) to make it to the semi-finals of 16U division.

NY2LA Invitational Updates:

Aaron Simpson and Keith Carter having good morning games for Team NLP 15U squad. Coaches from almost every high major program in the country are on hand for 2012 probable top ten national kids Alex Foster from Chicago and Peter Jok, NY2LA's top ranked kid in the class nationally.

Here's a Day 2 report including updates on area players Marcus Crider, Xavier Jones, Alex Foster (who has an Illinois offer) and more... http://www.ny2lasports.com/NextLevelDay2recap.htm

King James Classic:

Twitter is aflutter with Marques Teague praise from his morning game which has been attended by Rick Pitino and Tom Crean among others. Jody Demling's (of Louisville Courier-Journal) twitter feed has been great, Teague says he kind of knows where he will go and will visit Louisville, Indiana, and Kentucky in August. http://twitter.com/jdemling

Other area players of note include Chicago's Reggie Smith, Indianapolis Lawrence North (for now) forward Dominique Fergeson, Ohio State commit Deshawn Thomas, Michigan and Indiana target Moses Morgan, Cleveland Benedictine's Cameron Wright, Purdue target and Gary, Indiana star Brandon Dawson, Chicago's Jermone Richmond and many others. Louisville targets Chicago stars Mike Shaw and Wayne Blackshear in the 2011 class have been touring campuses together and told Jody Demling they want to be a package deal.

This tournament is taking advantage of the rules to get the college coaches in to see the 40 or so college kids invited to the camp in action in a tournament following the camp we've been covering (loosely). They split into 8 teams and they are all stacked with talent.

More Cincinnati Link-O-Rama and King James Skills Academy reports

Here's another Courier Journal (this time Rick Bozich) link so some before mentioned topics. The new news here is the Florida Gators all over Jon Horford. And Demling refers to him as the 6'9 Jon Horford. If a 6'9 Jon Horford exists, he will be a popular man. The 6'6 Jon Horford was starting to draw a crowd. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/bozich/2009/07/final-aaurecruiting-thoughts-from.html

Over 225 coaches registered in Cincinnati by dinner-time according to this Demling story. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090706/SPORTS11/907060357/1028/rss0702

Jeremiah Davis had a nice game in Cincinnati... http://www.idsnews.com/basketblog/?p=2496

NBE blog has several area coaches watching teams of note. Rick Pitino, Mike Brey, and Depaul assistants were on hand for the Derek Rose Elite game at 11:45, John Calipari was at an Ohio Basketball Club vs NE Playaz game at 12:15, the Atlanta Celtics drew Cincinnati, Marquette, and Depaul. More on Cincinnati and Louisville as well. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/07/06/nbe-live-at-adidas-it-takes-5ive/

Van Coleman of Hoopmasters has a good report on several kids of interest from day one in Cincinnati. Hoopmasters is a pay site, but not as expensive as some others and I believe they have a free trial if you're interested. He had good things to say about Louisville commit Michael Chandler, apparently playing for Derek Rose All-Stars now. Coleman also noted Cincinnati Moeller's Griffin McKenzie was hitting 18 footers and playing well inside. Michigan's 5'7 Maurice Jones, Western Kentucky commit Ge'Lawn Guyn, 6'3 combo guard Brandon Spearman from Chicago Simeon, and John Gasser of Port Washington, Wisconsin were also singled out for good play on day one.

Lebron James Skills Academy had a lot of elite prospects on hand this year. Among kids of interest to IL/IN/KY/MI/OH schools were Jujan Staten, Doron Lamb, Russell Byrd, Cameron Wright, Marques Teague, Dominique Fergeson, Crandal Head, Trey Zeigler, Michael Gilchrist, Ray McCallum Jr, and Kyrie Irving. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/07/06/nbe-live-from-lebron-james-skills-academy/

Cincinnati Bearcats and Dayton Flyers recruiting update.

The ambitious Mongrel will try to tie a mid-major and a high-major school together in most of the target area states once a week and take a look at some of the recruiting hubub. Today we start in Ohio where all the action has been this week.

Cincinnati Bearcats

The biggest news? I'm sure you've heard, Lance "Born Exploited" Stephenson has committed to the Bearcats as hoops blogger guru Adam Zagoria suggested would happen last week. The Bearcats return almost their entire team from last year and will be a force. The Bearcats will lean on All-Big East Deonte Vaughn to run the show and have a big man to work with in Yancey Gates so the imaginary and totally pretend addition of the young Mr. Stephenson would make them a top 10 team nationally most likely.

But in the real world we all know Stephenson was not shunned by every college he looked at in recent weeks just because of a probable misdemeanor charge for allegedly groping a girl in school. Tyreke Evans can be a hot commodity after much more serious concerns last year. The real concern the colleges who took a close look at Lance had was that coaches believe he has almost no chance of ever being eligible to play college basketball. Any games he plays in will be subject to forfeit because he has so many dollars running through and over him. See the great Pat Forde's ESPN column on Stephenson from earlier this month for a rundown, but reality shows and shoe shenanigans are the most obvious but not complete set of concerns with Stephenson.

Still, its a big splash and that is what Coach Cronin probably wants. And who knows, a year of winning with ineligible kids will come back to hurt the kids who stay but you never know when you will wind up coaching one of the elite programs in the sport and out of harms way as a result (cough, cough no real life similarities will be admitted to). And Cronin is doing a masterful job of building his recently struggling program into a Big East contender without Stephenson. Vaughn and Gates will be joined by Sean Kilpatrick and the Bearcats continue to recruit top talent. The Bearcats are in good shape with Atlanta Celtics 6'8 shot blocker Brandon Mobley of Savannah, Goergia and Mongrel favorite Ricardo Johnson of Covington Holmes, KY in the 2010 class. Coach Cronin and staff continue to track in-state stud Adreian Payne as well as Ronald Ross of Indianapolis Washington and several others. One other instant impact soring guard to keep an eye on is Jesse Berry of Lafayette, Indiana who appears to favor Dayton right now.

2011 recruiting is off to a big start with Bowling Green, Kentucky import Chane Behanan locked up and other targets include point guards Marques Teague and Jeremiah Davis from Indianapolis and Tyrone Johnson of Plainfield, New Jersey as well as big man Robert Goff who is a junior college kid who just transferred and will redshirt a year moving him into the 2011 class. The Bearcats will be spending a lot of time in Bowling Green keeping tabs on Behanan but also working on George Fant who is a top priority in the class of 2011 as well. Prying Fant away from the hometown Hilltoppers will be a chore considering they are on a bit of a roll themselves.

2012 recruiting is continuing to take off with recent offers extended to Speice Indy Stars teammates Ron Patterson, Austin Burgett, and Jeremy Hollowell from Indianapolis. All in all, its a great time to be a Bearcat as long as Born Ready only rocks the boat and doesn't run it ashore.

Dayton Flyers

The Flyers are also making big waves in the recruiting world. The Flyers 2010 class should be among the nation's best once all is said and done. Hometown star Adriean Payne appears ready to wait it out to see who else he would be surrounding himself with, but he is the name floating around just beneath the surface. The Flyers are in great shape with several guards who are arguably almost as good or better, but Payne is the combination of size and athlete rarely seen in mid-major leagues and would be a huge get for the Flyers.

The 2010 class is already off to a big start with 5'11 point guard Juwan Staten already locked up. ESPN's ScoutsInc has Staten as the 43rd ranked prospect in the country. Other key targets for 2010 include Indiana's second leading scorer Jesse Berry of Laffayette, Indiana. Berry had 6 games over 40 points last season and according to Dayton Daily News staff writer Doug Harris is favoring the Flyers. http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/university-of-dayton-flyers/flyers-going-after-guards-181266.html Look for Berry to continue to continue to blow up in July, he is an elite level scorer and has great range. The Mongrel watched him help lead SYF Players to the 17U championship at the Adidas May Classic and he looked a cut above some other talented kids on his team such as 2010 stars Jake Kitchell (Union Co) and Xavier Jones (Gary). Berry's camp has said Kentucky called to check in on him and he is supposed to visit Arizona in August so keep an eye on this situation.

The Flyers are looking to bring in several guards in this class and one of the hottest prospects they are in good shape with is Brandon Spearman from Chicago. He is a 6'3 shooting guard who has been great for the Illinois Warriors this year and is ranked #71 by rivals.com. With the exception of the Ohio Basketball Club, the Warriors have probably had the best spring on the 17U AAU circuit and Spearman has received a lion's share of that credit. The Harris article linked above claims Berry, Spearman, and Jalen Steel of Knoxville have offers and have called the Flyers their favorite. He also mentions an offer to Cameron Wright of Cleveland St Benedictine. Wright is no longer committed to Ohio State after Coach Matta looked to replace him with a higher ranked prospect. This has not deterred the Flyers or Big Ten heavyweights Wisconsin and Indiana. Wright has offers from all three and was heavily recruited by Bo Ryan before his original OSU verbal and was thought to be a natural fit to replace Vander Blue when he first opened things up. But the Flyers and Hoosiers are making strong pushes to land Wright. Wright recently made a second visit to Indiana and took his family with him per a story on Peegs.com, Indiana's excellent Rivals site. In the Harris article mentioned above, veteran hoops scout Van Coleman says Wright's "quickness and explosion in the open court make him a dangerous player." Wright will be playing this July for the King James All-Stars and will probably draw more attention as he missed most of last year with an injury and was not evaluated as heavily as some of his peers in the class.

With four graduating guards the Flyers look to reshape the future of their program by landing a few of these excellent prospects. Keep a close eye on the Flyers, they are recruiting like a Big Ten or Big East program. The Flyers have excellent prospects lined up behind these elite guards already with reported offers out to Josh Sewell of Louisville, Trinity and Jordan Manual of TC Howe in Indianapolis. Other key recruits such as Nick Kellog (Columbus, OH) and Roy Marble Jr (Southerfield, MI) have visited and the Flyers already have in-state power forward Ralph Hill verbally committed so missing out on Payne might only be a speed bump to a brighter future which is already taking shape.