2012 Mongreltopia Class Top 50!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Possible top 50 candidates:

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

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

Conner Boehm is a 6'6 New Trier forward.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Myles Hamilton is a point guard from St Edwards OH.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Visit Updates.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Thursday July 9 AAU and Camp roundup.

Cerroni and Patterson Dominate Hoosier Shootout is in the books. Spiece Indy Stars won the 15U game with big performances from Ron Patterson and point guard Kellon Thomas. Rhett Smith and Austin Burgette scored well and Wisconsin Playground Warriors super-star JP Tokoto was held in check with the Star's outstanding wings in Jeremy Hollowell and Drew. Drew is a 6'6 kid with a lot of the same length and versatility that gets coaches so excited about Hollowell but is a bit less farther along with his finishing at this point. He is an excellent athlete and will be a big time player one day in the not too distant future. Hollowell has been mentioned several times here and has offers on the table from Cincinnati and Iowa already and is in demand from Indiana, Ohio State, and other high majors. Tokoto and Popcorn Morris made the all tourney team for 2012 players for the Warriors squad.

Wisconsin Green Bay 2010 commitment Kameron Cerroni went hyper-nutso-ballistic in this tournament and set the tourney record for points scored in the event on the way to winning the title for the Wisconsin Playground Warriors. The Warriors are best known for their twin towers in Evan Anderson and Ben Mills and some of the younger players who play up sometimes such as Tokoto. But it was Cerroni who scored 48 points in a quarterfinal game and averaged 27.5 ppg in the tournament. He went for 18 this morning to beat the Shining Star Sports in the championship game.
http://www.wishoops.net/sports/hoopsb/blog/message.aspx?f=123&id=1042462
Here is a link to a HoosierNation.com story by John Decker on Burgette. http://indiana.scout.com/2/878026.html Burgette has a Cincinnati offer and strong interest from Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, and Xavier.

Another article from the Scout network, this time Redhawk Insider on Indianapolis (Manual) point guard Crishawn Hopkins who now has offers from Miami, Butler, and Wright State. He also has interest from Indiana, Virginia, and Arizona State. See earlier blog posts on Hopkins' game or do a youtube search on his dunks. You won't believe your eyes. He is under the radar because he missed some time in a couple of seasons for academics, but he is a bright kid and has turned it on and is taking summer school and making the grades now. http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=2&c=877991 Another article from their site updates Miami checking in on Covington Holmes star Ricardo Johnson who is my favorite unsigned senior in Kentucky. Johnson still only has the one offer from Bradley but he is being watched by several mid majors and some high majors.

Adidas It Takes Five was completed. The 17U champs was Triple Threat, the 16U champs were the Derek Smith All Stars, and the 15U champs was Indiana Elite/Team Indiana.

Here is a free recap from ESPN Scouts.inc writer John Stovall that gives good reviews to Indiana 2011 commitment Matt Carlino, Indianapoils North-Central 2012 combo guard Devontes Smith-Rivera, and 2013 Lansing Star Charles Tucker. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4316431

Here are some comments on some Indiana Elite kids we've covered and Ricardo Johnson from hoopsreport.com. http://www.hoopsreport.com/news/eventreports/morefromthequeencity

King City Classic is on its final day. I've been pushing the NBE Blog and still suggest going there for info on many of the higher profile events and they were all over King City Classic. See link on my sidebar. For now, here is a link to a great recruiting update from U Michigan hoops. It has great links from the blog to information on the King City Classic and many of the players. One interesting link to follow is the Detroit News link and a blurb on there about how talented Jordan Crawford is even when compared to the other college players there. Xavier should be a tough out with Crawford added to an already strong roster after sitting out a year for transfer.
http://www.umhoops.com/2009/07/09/thursday-recruiting-bullets/ There is a lot of stuff on Bloomington South (Indiana) sharp shooter Spencer Turner and UM commit Evan Smotrycz.

Reebok All-Star Camp is in its second day in Philadelphia. I can't find a lot other than the NBE blog on this one. Most of what I'm hearing from there has to do with coaches visiting or how cheap Reebok went this year as they stopped keeping stats other than scoring. If I run across anything else tonight I'll add it later.

NY2LA Invitational in Milwaukee is wrapping up. Here is a day 3 report. http://www.ny2lasports.com/NextLevelDay3recap.htm Former Wisconsin commit Vander Blue was the headliner yesterday. He has offers from Marquette, Indiana, and Wisconsin on the table and is ranked top 50 nationally by Scout and Rivals. Other players of note included Flavien Davis (Wisconsin Scholars 2010), Zach McCabe (Iowa Barnstormers 2010), Xavier Jones (SYF Players 2010), Jordan Myrick (Grand Rapids Storm 2011) and Meanstreets 2013 6'9 center Milos Kostic.

Going into today the 2013 group had All Iowa Attack Red (Todd Friedman and Peter Jok) against Wisconsin Force (Nick Fuller) in one semifinal and Martin Brothers Select (Nick Zellar) against Meanstreets (Alex Foster, Milos Kostic, Nick Davidson) in the other. The 2012 division had Martin Brothers Select (Adam Woodbury) against Playground Elite (Arroyo Edwards) in one semi-final and Rising Stars Gold (Conner Boehm and Akeem Springs) against All Iowa Attack Red in the other. The 16U division had Rising Stars Gold (Michael Henry) against Iowa Barnstormers (Seth Tuttle and Rashawn Suarez) in one semifinal and All Iowa Attack Red against Wisconsin Playmakers in the other. And finally the 2010 grouping had All Iowa Attack Red (Josh Oglesby and Zach McCabe and Trayvon Wright) against SYF Players (Jones, Mason, Kitchell) in one semi and Net Gain Sports (Chase Creekmur) against the Milwaukee Spartans (Vander Blue) in the other.


Kentucky Hoopfest is underway already. Several of the better teams from the tournaments just completed in Cincinnati and Indianapolis will be there. The Spiece Indy Stars 2012 squad had to forfeit their first pool match and will play at 7:15 this evening. Spiece is sending several squads including Select 2011. Here are some early links from day one action including big games for Jeffersonville freshman Daryl Baker fresh off his standout performance at Indiana's elite camp. http://www.hoosierhillshoops.com/2009/07/09/kentucky-hoopfest-baker-leads-tsi-16u-to-win/

Team Pride had a strong Adidas Take Five tournament with Kenny Kaminski (2012) having a good tournament and drawing quite a crowd including some Big Ten coaches. The 16U team made it to the quarter finals. They had a great opening day at the Kentucky Hoopfest going 5-0. The Mongrel did a feature on Kaminski a couple weeks back, he is worth taking a look at. According to Team Pride's Twitter page Kaminski and 6'9 Matt Costello played well at the 2012 level. http://twitter.com/TeamPride

Shining Star Sports has several teams in tourney and starts 12-4, here's the rundown they most likely beat the team you're looking for and here are the scores for each of their teams.
http://shiningstarsports.blogspot.com/2009/07/kentucky-hoopfest-update-day-one.html

InsidetheHall has a good rundown of Spiece Indy Stars after their 15U victory against Indiana Swish Orange 2012 on day 1. After winning the championship in the Hoosier Shootout this morning the Stars had to forfeit their early game so they have no room for error in their pool and pull even to 1-1 including the forfeit. ITH has updates on Burgette, Patterson, Hollowell, Kellon Thomas, Darwin Davis, Austin Etherington, and Jeremiah Davis. http://www.insidethehall.com/2009/07/09/kentucky-hoopfest-day-one/ I should get a firsthand look at some talent at the Ky Hoopfest on Friday and Saturday in between some prior commitments and will have some observations to share late.

The Louisville Courier-Journal's Jody Demling has a day one rundown hits on several Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky players including Spencer Turner, Ken Kaminski, Jeremiah Davis, Matt Carlino, Aaron Thomas, RJ Hunter, and Taylor Epley among others.
http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/07/kentucky-hoopfest-day-one.html

Chicago Summer Classic opened up today and I'm trying to round up some information on it. I read a report that 17U Mac Irvin Fire beat the Iowa Barnstormers in a close one. Alex Rossi had a big game but they lost in OT. Hearing some good twitters about Tavaras Heron and Travis Kellum as well as Michael Haynes.

I'll update later tonight if I find anything else from day one. All I can find so far is a premium article from Blackandgold.com who are doing a great job covering AAU events this summer. http://purdue.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=963733 They have reports on Nana Egwu, Chason Randle, and some 2013 prospects from Indiana and Michigan but nothing in depth on game action from the day.

March Madness Strikes in July. (AAU-link-o-rama)

Indiana being a little hoops crazy is not exactly news to observers of the sport or the state. Standing room only crowds at different venues on July 6th is a dirty pleasure for basketball fans in the middle of summer. Since coaches had no April evaluation period, face time was at a premium and has never been more anticipated and recruits wanted to see just how serious the pillow talk they'd been hearing really was (at least the good Mongrel was chomping at the bits).

And just a couple of hours away in Cincinnati the Adidas Takes 5 tipped off. A hoops pulsar exploded in Naptown and the Queen City and the bloggers, twitter, the rivals and scout team sites, and yes my friends, our good friends in the newspaper industry appear to be noticing the baby hoop ripples drifting through the galaxy. Here are a few of the first links I've come across for other people's impressions of some hoop action from today and recent activity from Rick Bolus camps as well.

Rick Bolus' 30th Blue Chip Camp was held at Georgetown College last week. Jody Demling from the Courier-Journal has an exception blog which the Mongrel has hyped before. He reported yesterday that Curtis Washington, a 6'9 forward from Elizabethtown was named camp MVP. His Derek Smith All-Stars West team was in action at the Adidas Take 5 today in front of a host of coaches. Camp runner-up is someone the Mongrel will have to track down because I hadn't heard of him. 6'7 Colt Barnhill from East Carter, Kentucky the Mongrel will be googling you within the hour. Jerian Hunt (2011) from Michigan was named top underclassman. Hoosier Hills Report loved the performances of East Central's 5'9 point guard Kevin Kidd who was in the top 30 all-star game. HHR also reports Corydon's Garrett Ross and Jennings County's 6'8 sophomore center Sam Hunt were in the second thirty all-star game. South Spencer's brilliant coach Rob Schulte had two young players in the event in freshman Josh Schulte and sophomore Tyler Harper, watch out Pocket Athletic Conference if Coach Schulte gets a few horses to run with. The Mongrel told you first...http://www.hoosierhillshoops.com/2009/07/04/blue-chip-high-potential-camp-report/ I got to take a look at Garret Ross today and love his toughness, can't wait to see him again and get a better feel for his game.

Here's a link to the Adidas It Takes 5 from an Indiana University perspective on Insidethehall, an excellent IU blog. Notice the mention of Indiana interest in Ken Kaminski (2012) that the Mongrel blogged on last week. He is not to be confused with another 2010 recruit named Kaminicki who is also a good player but not the type of athlete Kaminski is. http://www.insidethehall.com/2009/07/06/it-takes-5ive-opens-july-evaluation-period/

The Indianapolis Star has discovered Hoops recruiting with a vengeance after seeming to think it was nothing more than an annoyance for the longest time. Check out this report on the 2012 Indiana Elite/Team Indiana and 2012 Eric Gordon All Stars starting off well. North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, and Virginia Tech were on hand to see DeVantes Smith-Rivera and company go 2-0 today and DJ Ballantine fresh off a standout performance at the Michigan Elite Camp also started off hot for Eric Gordon All-Stars who are also 2-0. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/07/north-carolina.html Even better than this blog entry is the new web page from the Star ranking state of Indiana players to 20 by class and listing Purdue and Indiana recruits. Its a great tool, and we will revisit it in the near future and take a look at individual state rankings by different sources. You don't get the depth from a pay site like Rivals or Scout, but its free and gives you a new perspective so it will catch things those guys miss and vise versa. http://www.indystar.com/section/SPORTS0615

Another Indiana Elite player is gaining offers. Roy Williams and Billy Donovan were on hand to see Cody Zeller from Indiana Elite One (2011). Purdue, Iowa, and Butler have joined Indiana with offers for Cody. He teams with twin tower Marshall Plumlee to give Indiana Elite a dynamic front court. Zeller is more skilled with the ball and has outstanding speed and runs the floor extremely well at 6'9. He can shoot and has a nose for rebounds and appears to be on track to be an elite player in the class of 2011. Plumlee is just as elite a prospect at 6'11 with strong post fundamentals and a good motor. Both of these guys will keep getting better. Howard Kellenberger of the Hoosiertimes had this to say about Zeller. http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/iusp/?p=3859

More tomorrow after some work on the Hoosier Shootout Day One report.

Ken Kaminski 2012 Ohio Star in the Making

One of the best players I've seen in the 2012 class is without a doubt Ken Kaminski. This is a kid who is so good he's not going to be able to be referred to as overlooked or underrated for very long so the Hoops Mongrel wants to strike while the iron is hot.

The Mongrel watched Kaminski for the first time this spring playing for Team Pride. He's about 6'5 or 6'6 and extremely athletic. He not only can leap, he also has a little grace to it and some hang time which stands out at this age. And wow, the kid just throws up nice looking 3's with a quick release and Kaminski can flush the ball with authority. He plays with intensity and is really smart. Its hard to be more impressed with a kid in this age group the first time you see him play.

The forthcoming Mongrel is far from the only one noticing, however. The good gentleman the Mongrel sat next to during one of Kaminski's hoops explosions would interrupt stories about his top-secret inside information on Butler basketball's coming ascendency with secret recruits already locked up like Ben Brust and Austin Etherington with several compound words that began with "holy" but ended in ways best not described in such a friendly environment. Kaminski belongs in the same class as other elite 2012 players nationally that the good Mongrel has been fortunate to see such as D'vonte Smith-Rivera, Ron Patterson, Jaylen Beckham, Raphael Davis, Elijah Macon, and AJ Hammons.

Kaminski is from Medina, Ohio and plays AAU ball for an impressive Michigan AAU program by the name of Team Pride. The resourceful Mongrel found google very kind when looking for ooh's and aah's describing Kaminski's game. Saginaw area hoops guru Lou Dawkins is one of the sharpest knives in the drawer when it comes to Michigan hoops. Tubby Smith fans might remember Dawkins as a star for Tubby's Tulsa squads. He has a blog at http://www.botbscouting.blogspot.com/ that does some great event recaps and scouting and the grateful Mongrel will return to this well a time or two at least when doing our Michigan hoops homework. Look for Dawkins' event recaps in the May archive and you'll find an entry from the IPS Border Battle in which he refers to Kaminski as a "potential McDonalds All-American" and comfortably suggests he might be the best player in Ohio's 2012 class including Macon and (at that time) Behanon. Take a look at Kaminski and you'll be a fan. Quickness, skill, intangibles, range, hops, this kid has it all.