Gibbons top 150 for 2010, Other Recruiting Buzz

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,

New Offers, Interest, Happenings in AAU world

* 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

July 10 AAU roundup and link-o-rama

Detroit Finny's Isiah Sykes and Ohio State commitment Lenzelle Smith made the all-star team at the Reebok All-American camp. Some Kentucky, Louisville, Indiana, and Notre Dame targets were also selected including Stacey Poole, LaQuinton Ross, Fuquan Edwin, Joe Jackson, Kyle Anderson, and Sterling Gibbs. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/07/11/friday-open-evaluation-period-notebook-part-ii/ Part one of their evaluation has more on some east coast prospects at Reebok and some notes on Chicago Summer Classic including liking 2011 James Siakhem for Illinois Titans. They also spoke with Indianapolis Howe's 6'8 forward Jordan Manual who is listing a top 3 of Wright State, Saint Josephs, and Providence. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/07/10/friday-open-evaluation-period-notebook-part-i/ The summer classic is on day 3 right now and here is a link to updated playoff schedules. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/sclassic6.html

All-Iowa Attack Red won the 17U division of the NY2LA Invitational in Milwaukee and 2011 star Donivine Stewart was playing up a grade and still won co-MVP honors with teammate Travon Wright. http://www.ny2lasports.com/NextLevelDay4recap.htm Chris Oliver, Jesse Berry, Alex Foster, and other players of note are featured. Milwaukee's own Vander Blue scored 33 in the loss.

Here is a link to some wonderful player profiles from the event by Illinois Prep Bullseye. http://ilprepbullseye.com/page42.html They profile Mike McCall who strangely enough is consistently ranked among the top handful of players in Chicago by all local media but seems to be way below that level by all the national guys. They also take a look at Donivine Stewart and several other players from Illinois including Keith Carter and Aaron Simpson (2013) who were watched closely by Purdue and Illinois at the event.

On July 12 the Summer Jam in Milwaukee will host elite talent from around the country including Vander Blue, Jalen Kendrick, Ray McCallum Jr, Moses Morgan, Cameron Wright, Flavien Davis, John Gasser, Dominique Fergeson, Trey Zeigler, Branden Dawson, Levonte Dority, Jake Kitchell, Quevyn Winters, Chason Randle, and Dante Williams. This Wisnet preview by Mark Miller has player rankings for many of the invitees and brief descriptions. http://www.wishoops.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/message.aspx?f=123&id=1043188

Dylan Kaufman (2012) of Akron recently visited Miami and received a scholarship offer. Kaufman also visited Ohio State and drew coaches from North Carolina, Akron, and Indiana's Tom Crean at the Adidas Take Five. http://www.miamihawktalk.com/home/recruits/player/10351/

Port Washington, Wisconsin shooting guard John Gasser has had a huge summer so far this year and according to a couple of separate Mark Miller blurbs he is being tracked closely by Wisconsin and Virginia at the Kentucky Hoopfest.

Adidas It Takes Five Wrap Up Reports...

Adidas It Takes Five

DC area power Triple Threat blew out Indiana Elite (Fox) in the 17U final of the Adidas It Takes Five. I'll update if any Triple Threat players are being heavily recruited by any area schools, but the tournament had many good performances in the 17U division and saw some players blow up on the national scene in a hurry. Indiana Elite (Fox) is led by a trio of Mount Vernon (Indiana) probable mid-major prospects in Daniel Turner, PJ Hubert, and DeAndre Davis. Turner is a bulldog small forward type who does a little of everything and gets plenty of rug burns along the way. Indiana Elite got big performances from Butler commit Eric Fromm. Louisville and Kentucky prospect Fab Mello drew a lot of attention, but some reports had Indianapolis 2011 prospect Michael Chandler playing him very well and Fromm doing well against him also. Chandler is also committed to Rick Pitino's Louisville program. Ge'lawn Guyn had a huge tournament fresh off his verbal to Charlotte. And Port Washington, Wisconsin's John Gasser had a huge tournament. Here is a link to Wishoops.net's story on him having a big game in front of Gary Williams and Tony Bennet (if i blog, does that mean this is my only allotted lounge singer wise-crack and I blew it?). http://www.wishoops.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/message.aspx?f=123&id=1041970

Elizabethtown, Kentucky big man Curtis Washington of the Derek Smith West All Stars has had quite a week. After the unheralded player earned MVP of the Bolus Blue Chip camp he showed up on high major radars overnight and was offered a scholarship to Kevin O'Niel's USC program and accepted. Its a long way from Elizabethtown to LA, we hope he brings his own Bourbon and Mammoth Cave Twist though. LA is a bit lacking in culture and things to do. I don't think any log cabin monuments to former presidents are likely to be found there as well. Maybe it won't be so bad... Congrats to Washington, this is the kind of nowhere to everywhere story the Mongrel lives for. Michael Johnston spoke with him after he committed. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9504-Louisville-High-School-Sports-Examiner~y2009m7d8-ETown-big-man-is-heading-out-to-the-Pac-10

The 16U division was won by Washington's pals at the Derek Smith All Stars. Remy Abel and George Fant have had big performances to lead the way (see past entries for direct links or click on Demling blog on left of page). They beat Indiana Elite Orange in a 78-76 decision. Fant and Abel were watched closely by Rick Pitino and Tom Crean and other high major coaches this weekend. Abel is a 6'3 shooting guard from Eastern (Louisville) and Fant is a 6'6 beast of a small forward from Warren Central in Bowling Green which looks to be a favorite to win Kentucky's beautiful and pure single class tournament with the new addition of Chase Behanon from Cincinnati. Indiana Elite was led by Bloomington South teammates Spencer Turner who had 21 points on 3 pointers and Indiana commitment Matt Carlino who had 13 to go with Princeton forward Rontay Chavis' 14 points along with support from Marshall Plumlee, Cody Zeller, and Justin Gant from Terre Haute North. http://www.hoosierhillshoops.com/2009/07/09/adidas-it-takes-5ive-ie-one-orange-takes-second/ Gant is 6'8 and very skilled and underrated and the Mongrel will be featuring him soon. He has an Iowa offer and has had heavy interest from Michigan and some from Purdue and Indiana. Gant can shoot, pass, handle the ball and can get up and down the court very well.

Other standouts in the 16U division include former USC commit Ryan Boatright who had great reviews for Derick Rose Elite, Jeremiah Davis from Indiana Elite/Team Indiana, Dee Davis from Indiana Elite/Team Indiana, and ... Jeremiah is a wonderful high major prospect with great strength and has a high major handle and impressive passing ability. He needs to become a more consistent decision maker and freelance a little less but he does knock it down. Dee Davis (no relation) was MVP of the Indiana state tournament and has a rare feel for the game as a 5'10 point guard. He's good enough that the high majors will miss him. He is a good defender and is a potential spot of infamy on Crean's recruiting record at IU letting Bloomington's own local hero go if he doesn't have similar or better players at the position actually commit to IU in the next couple of classes.

The 15U division was won by Indiana Elite/Team Indiana. Indianapolis North Central's Devontes Smith-Rivera led the way and is considered one of the elite players in the 2012 class nationally. Indiana, Tennessee, and Purdue are early leaders for Rivera with North Carolina joining the fray recently.

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/