Here's a Fine Collection of Signing Day Links

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.

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.

August Commitments and Recruting Updates:

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.

New Offers and Recruiting buzz

The good Mongrel buzzed a bit about Hillcrest star Eric Gaines after watching him at the Hoosier Shootout. His standout play for Orange Crush continues and he picked up an offer yesterday from Kent State University. There are an awful lot of kids who could play at a high major and maybe be good but would for sure be good at mid-majors and he is one of them. He's got the athleticism and length to keep improving his already impressive game no matter what level he plays at. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/egaines.html Gaines has also been targeted by Wright State and Indiana State among others.

Ohio guard Travis Trice plays for the 2011 SYF Players and Blackandgold.com reports he has offers from Akron, Butler, Wright State, Dayton, and Cleveland State and interest from his dad's old school Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, and West Virginia. http://purdue.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=964671

Butler is also interested in Clark County Kentucky guard Robbie Stenzel who is having a great July. Demling blog (no permalink, try sidebar) says he has offers from Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State and is being watched by Butler, Wright State (Brownell was also after Gaines and Trice), West Virginia and Oklahoma State.

Tea Leaf Prediction #1, Vander Blue might be on track to wind up an Arizona Wildcat. Today a few interesting articles went up on Blue who is having an enormous week at the Summer Jam in Milwaukee. First Peegs.com (Indiana rivals site) put up an article telling of Blue's relationship with Tom Crean from Marquette and indicating he might do an official at Indiana. Since that article is a pay site (linked at the sidebar) I'll go ahead and link the article done by IndyStar reporter Jeff Rabjohns http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/07/a-point-guard-c.html which is free. But Peegs and the Star were outdone this time around by Mongrel favorite Mike Miller of Wishoops.net (linked on the sidebar). Miller has an interview with Blue's coach which indicates he is almost ready to commit and likely will do so toward the end of July after they go to Vegas (or during). He lists a few schools which are high on the radar and one of which is Arizona which has offered and happens to be reasonably proximate to a UA visit. The article mentions he likely won't do any visits this fall unless he gets offers from some of the schools who are interested but not offered which included Indiana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and others. I think what fell through the cracks between these three stories was that Blue was offered by Marquette under Crean, and contacted when Crean got the IU job and re-upped. The assumption that the offer is fresh and being pursued seems to be unsupported by anything I've seen published at this time. And it looks to the Mongrel from the wording of the article in Wishoops.net that Blue is Zona bound unless IU, UCLA, or one of the other fine programs sniffing around jump all the way in bed with him. UCLA has been at the Summer Slam watching Branden Dawson, probably were kicking round Blue's stall as well. Tom Crean was watching Jay Harris of Illinois Old School in the same gym at the same time as a Milwaukee Spartans game, so forgive the Tea Leaf reading but double down on Arizona and Blue happening sometime in the next month.


According to bballreport Matt Painter is back in town and watching the SYF Players in Milwaukee on Tuesday and the next morning watched Illinois Wolves 15U vs NBU.


Hoopsreport.com's Coach Blevins is twittering that UK has offered a second Lamb a scholarship offer, this time Jeremy Lamb of the Georgia Stars 16U squad. Lamb also has an offer from UConn.
http://twitter.com/coachblevins

Chicagohoops is also reporting Steton Academy's Chris Oliver (2010) picked up an offer from Akron and Jacob Williams (2011) picked up an offer from coach Jim Les and Bradley.

Hoosier Shootout Day 1 Top Players:

2010:

Christian Kabongo Mt Zion Academy NC was the most dominant player I got to see on day one. He was playing with a team from Toronto called Scadding Court Ballhawks that I'm having trouble finding a roster for. He's a legit 6'5 and went coast to coast at will. He dribbles between his legs way too much but its impressive nonetheless and he pulls it off against some really quick players. He missed almost all of his deep shots but the people on hand assured me he usually hits them. He played great on defense for most of the game against one of the quickest points I saw yesterday. He took a lot of possessions off on defense too, but was extremely talented. He's the sort of guy who I'm sure will be a pro but I'm not sure if he'll make it to college. I was told he has a Nebraska offer on the table but is 19 already. He's an instant impact D1 talent if he makes it to a campus but might need reigned in a bit. He scored 30, had at least 8 assists and several steals and rebounds (and turnovers) as well.

Robert Wade from Team Nashville has to be one of the least talked about future college high major stars in the country. Here is a link I found while digging for more dirt on Wade. He was the player that all the kids from other teams gathered to watch and he kept going up strong on offensive rebounds and jamming the ball with one hand and having near misses. I didn't get to see enough of his game to get a feel for how good the little things are, but the big things are great, ask the Indiana Dawgz about him! Cincinnati and other schools were there watching and a couple of coaches were seen flipping through their $125 programs on the sidelines as they walked by. http://www.tnprephoops.com/content/view/1161/48/

Crishawn Hopkins from Indianapolis Manual was outstanding for Team Blaze but he was the only highlight for his team. He scored well over 20 of his teams 30 or so points. He is every bit of 6'0 tall but skinny, but the kid can jump out of the gym and has some range. He reportedly got a Miami (Oh) offer and did well at Miami and Indiana's elite camps recently. Coaches from Wright State, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado, Morehead State, and Princeton were on hand for his game against a loaded Atlanta All Stars team.

David Mason was the most impressive college prospect on the Atlanta All Stars. I haven't dug for their roster yet to see who some of his talented teammates were, but Mason was about 6'5 with good reach and had high major athleticism and some explosion to his game. This was one of the most talented teams I got to see in the 17U group yesterday and should be a tough out in the tournament. #34 was about 6'9 and played well as did #55 who was about the same size but a little bit stronger. Both looked like mid-majors or better to me.

Jeff Johnson was outstanding for the Peoria Irish 17U squad against Camp Daryl. #0 and #30 were both 6'8 forwards with nice games. I'm pretty sure Johnson was #0 so please correct me if I'm wrong. He had a shaved head and a headband and kept draining jumpers and defending well and being physical. #30 was also about the same size but more mobile and longer and made some nice plays with the ball and hustled. Let me know if you know who he was. Just found out Josh Piper was the other one. They both play for Champaign Centennial.

Eric Gaines was very impressive for Orange Crush. They had a very athletic team and the 6'4 rangy Gaines was chosen for his work on the baseline, he's quite an impressive athlete for his Hillcrest high school.

Jeff Hoskins is a 6'1 shooting guard from Kalamazoo who looked really good against the Irish for Camp Daryl. He was playing point yesterday and hustled all game long and showed off a nice 3 pointer even when well guarded. He was #10 unless the rosters have shuffled around.

Illinois Titans had some impressive athletes. I mentioned Siakhem and Ochenje from the younger class playing up with this squad and they were dominant. But the team was loaded with guys with muscles and mohawks. #32 and #23 were especially impressive physically.

Nashville Celtics Green #2 was big time as well. I'm not sure who he was, have three suspects so until I narrow it down somebody help me out. He was a 6'4ish kid who had a nice stroke, star level athleticism and had Vanderbilt and Michigan coaches among others watching he and his Nashville Celtics Green team. #1 and point guard #8 were good as well.

2011:

James Siakhem is playing up with the 17U Illinois Titans and was extremely impressive. He didn't look near the 6'7 height I'd seen him listed before but he's got to be one of the most physically imposing players in his age group. He hustled and is a special athlete. Word on him is that Depaul, Vanderbilt, and Southern Illinois have already offered. The 17U Titans had several other good athletes, check them out.

Khristian Smith from Indianapolis Pike has had a good summer. He led his Pike team to a victory at Purdue's team camp without Marques Teague and has picked up some D1 offers. If he continues to play alongside the special 2012 prospects who joined his team for the Shootout, the college coaches following them like a band of gypsies will continue to be impressed with him. He is about 6'5 with good length, athleticism, and a mature game. He plays hard on defense, cuts at the right time, and has a decent stroke. Keep an eye on him.

2012:

Emanuel Ochenje had the most potential of the 2012 kids I got to see yesterday. He is ranked #1 in the class by Chicagohoops and was playing up with the 17U Illinois Titans. He is an amazing athlete, you simply have to go see this team play if you are checking out the shootout. They have outstanding athletes at many positions and should be one of the favorites to win the tournament. When I saw them play they didn't get a challenge from the Kansas Express who were most notable for having a kid play who reminded me of Seth Rogen from Badass but kept sticking nice 12 footers off the glass nonetheless.

Ron Patterson keeps playing great ball. He plays for Broad Ripple in Indianapolis and is only about 6'2 but his arms are so long he plays with the length of a forward. He's a really impressive defender and can shoot some and make it to the hoop. Look for him to continue to improve his handle and be a star in the class of 2012.

Gary Harris from Huntington Southeast was with a new AAU team and word apparently hadn't spread beyond Bruce Weber and Tom Crean who joined the Mongrel and a few others to watch Harris go to work. Harris changes speeds well, can drive, and looks good going up for pull up jumpers. He got hurt early in the second half, I can't wait to see him again expect to see him rocket up the charts with the national guys and make the Mongrel stop talking about him. Up Tempo had a really long lanky kid who came off the bench and stroked some 3's and played really good defense that had Tom Crean walking over to the scorer's table, he was #32 but not sure yet who he was.

Austin Burgett from Avon, Indiana keeps getting better and better. He looks a legit 6'7 now and is getting stronger. He was very aggressive yesterday in front of legions of college coaches for the first time and really took over his team's second game on both ends of the floor. He's got a very nice handle and shot for a big kid.

Yogi Ferrel from Park Tudor in Indianapolis was outstanding yesterday playing against older kids. The teams the Indy Stars went up against were not offering the kind of competition he's likely to face as the tournament goes on, but he was easily the most impressive of the 2012 kids playing up with Quarles' Indy Stars. He was efficient and made great assists at times. I believe he had 20 points in the second game and was all over the glass, penetrating, and his shot keeps looking better. I also think he might have grown an inch or so since last time I saw him and his arms look a bit longer than you'd expect from a 5'9 point guard.

Jeremy Hollowell from Indianapolis was outstanding. He is about 6'6 and has a smooth 3 point stroke and was active driving to the basket as well as off the ball yesterday. He has great length and a good handle.

Raphael Davis is another outstanding prospect on that Indy Stars team. He is going to be big time in college. Right now he dominates the ball too much for a kid with a shaky handle and 3 outstanding point guards on his team and he tends to shoot the team out of rhythm from time to time. But he's got talent to burn and will be an extremely good small forward in college. What could be seen as shooting too much to some is probably a killer instinct to Matt Painter. This kid will score a ton of points in college. He might not have the handle and defensive quickness you want a shooting guard to have, but he is 6'4 with good length and I can't wait to watch him mature.

Brad Hartman, Kellon Thomas, Rhett Smith, and Larry Drew were also impressive for the 2012 Spiece Indy Stars. DeJuan Marrero was extremely impressive rebounding and getting put backs. AJ Hammons didn't play in the second half of the first game or at all in the second game presumably because of a minor injury but he looked fine. RJ Mahurin was an impressive floor general for Up Tempo.

2013:

VJ Beachum from Ft Wayne played a great game for his Spiece Indy Heat 2013 game playing up a year against Up Tempo and Gary Harris. Tom Crean and Bruce Weber got to take it in. Beachum is very long and can shoot, drive, and block shots. He's about 6'5 already and usually had the ball and didn't look outclassed against extremely underrated 2012 prospect Gary Harris. If anyone has a roster for his team I'd love to know who #9 and #12 were on his team as they have bright futures as well as #5 who appears to be a Matt Howard clone in the making.