Offers, Updates, and Link-O-Rama! July 19, 2009.

I spoke with Chris Hawkins, the Spiece Indy *STARS* 2012 coach yesterday and he said Jeremy Hollowell has decided to stay with the Spiece Indy Stars through July. Hollowell has seen his game and his offer list grow rapidly this summer and appears to be one of the highest recruited kids in the 2012 class at this point if offers are used as a barometer. He has offers from Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, and others despite not even beginning his sophomore year.


New offers keep rolling in. According to Chicagohoops Jeff Johnson of the Peoria Irish has received offers from American University and SIU-Edwardsville. He has a nice mid range shot and plays physical at 6'8, when I saw him against Camp Daryl in Indianapolis he looked like a solid mid-major to me. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/jeffjohnson2.html

A couple of nice features by the Indy Star's recruiting blog. Spiece Select 2011 teammates Kendall Griffin (scout.com photo mug-shot above) and Zach Van DeWater are both big guards with D1 attention and at least mid-major futures. I've seen the play a little although Griffin was out this spring and they are both really impressive players. Griffin is a versatile guard who can play some point or off the ball and has good length at at least 6'4. He has an offer from IPFW on the table and interest from several schools including Xavier, Purdue, Michigan, and Dayton.
http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/07/avons-kendall-g.html Here is an interview posted on P-Hoops.blogspot.com which is a wonderful site for position player rankings in Indiana from somebody who gets to see them quite a bit. http://p-hoops.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-on-one-with-kendall-griffin.html The interview is from January but has some information on Kendall's recruitment.

Van DeWater plays for Whitko and has interest from Butler, Ball State, and Indiana State among others. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/07/vandewater-hear.html They have several D1 teammates to watch including 6'7 brute Tony Springmann who is also getting recruited at the highest levels as a tackle in football.

Albany has offered 6'2 shooting guard Blake Justice from Peebles, Ohio. He plays for CBIZ. HighMajorscoop is one of our favorite twitter links to follow during aau tournaments and they have some new content on their website including this link on Justice and some other Ohio recruiting buzz. http://highmajorscoop.com/2009/07/weekend-scoop/

Also according to the above link Bowling Green, Wright State, and James Madison have offered 2010 small forward Craig Seeley from Brookhaven, Ohio.

Back to the Indianapolis Star's Kyle Neddenreip with another blog entry, this time on the Mount Vernon trio the good Mongrel has blogged about a few times. Daniel Turner has offers from Wright State, Lipscomb, Navy, and UW-Green Bay. He's the 6'5 all hustle jack of all trades small forward. PJ Hubert is the big time shooter. He has an offer from IUPUI. DeAndre Davis is a 6'6 forward with offers from UW-Green Bay, IUPUI, and IUPFW.

The good Mongrel linked several updates of the NY2LA Summer Jam and should've updated some wrap up reports a couple of days ago but dropped the ball. Here are a few links talking up the performances of Cameron Wright, Vander Blue, Moses Morgan, Dominique Fergeson, Percy Gibson, Chasson Randle, Trey Zeigler, Branden Dawson, and several other players of interest. Here are the 17U standouts
http://www.ny2lasports.com/SummerJam17UTopPerformers.htm. And here are the 16U standouts
http://www.ny2lasports.com/SummerJam17UTopPerformers.htm. NY2LA had similar coverage of the NY2LA Invitational from the first week of July if you click on their home page the links are on the side. It didn't have as much talent as the Summer Slam but it had quite a bit of the same people.

Here is a similar rundown by ESPN Scouts.inc on the Triple S Mountain Slam last week. Western Kentucky commitment Derrick Gordon is mentioned along with Indiana target Tyrone Johnson and some updates on some mystery Canadians the good Mongrel was marvelling at in passing at the Kentucky Hoopfest. Kadeem Green was really impressive with his ability to handle the ball at 6'8 or so and the ability to drive consistently and shoot a pretty jumper. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/mens/news/story?id=4338300

Are you a little depressed about not having a budget to get to Vegas or Orlando to see hoops? The frugal Mongrel's hoops budget this month is going to be limited. I'll make a trip to Merrillville to see the End of Summer Classic put on by Chicagohoops and I'm also hoping to get a chance to peek in at the USSSA Championships put on in Fort Wayne about the same time. I'll be catching much of the Reebok Championship on the web for free on Wazoosports.com. It is the best quality you'll find and they have real Kentuckians doing the play by play so you get to hear the latest gossip on the kids playing the game as well as feel like you aren't drinking alone if you're sipping a little bourbon. The video is superior to what you find elsewhere and the games are pretty random. My other pursuit will be Grassrootstv.com. It is run in cahoots with Maxxathlete.com and hoopmasters.com and I am not sure how much of it will be free and how much will require a monthly subscription. I'll foot the bill for a month if I have to, but I think last year a lot of it was free. They are doing the Las Vegas Main Event from the 22nd to the 26th and the Double Pump Best of Summer Tournament from the 27th to the 31st. You can watch replays so it is wise for the married readers to wait till the kids are in bed and the wife turns on Trueblood before checking in there. I also hear Jody Demling will be doing a lot of live blogging from Vegas so get him with questions if he is watching something you're interested in.

10 July Recruiting Observations to Watch

Here is volume one of the soon to be anticipated 10 hot tips from the recruiting world.

1) The Mongrel has been all over the spectacular job being done by the Dayton Flyers in recruiting some of the best talent in the midwest in any conference for the class of 2010. Staten, Berry, and company could be on the verge of adding Chicago's Brandon Spearman to that haul according to the Hoops Report blog (Hendrickson). http://blogs.suntimes.com/hoopsreport/ Scroll down to the sub-header "Warriors Brief Appearance" and you'll see that Hendrickson is saying word from the Chicago Summer Classic was that Spearman is about to join the already loaded Dayton class of 2010. Hendrickson also talks about Purdue and Illinois targets (not to mention half the Big Ten) Nana Egwu and Chasson Randle as well as Louisville and Indiana targets Mike Shaw and Wayne Blackshear. James Siakhem, Jacob Williams, Jordan Threloff and other Chicago area players are mentioned.

2) IPFW offered Bloomington South's Spencer Turner and head coach Dane Fife was on hand to watch Indiana Elite at the Kentucky Hoopfest on more than one occasion. Turner is one of the best shooters as I have seen in the high school ranks but isn't extremely quick laterally. He has improved his conditioning this summer from last year and is getting stronger. In the quarter-final loss to Team Takeover Turner made a key drive late in the game and hit an 8 foot floater that we have seen him bust out a few times before. He is more than just a shooter, but it is that amazingly deadly rainbow bomb that will always be his hallmark. http://www.hoosierhillshoops.com/index.php

3) The Mongrel will not often (if ever) use the word lock, but you can put this in the bank. Western Michigan is an already attractive mid-major destination. They have the finest brewery in the Midwest (Bells) and the great middle linebacker (inside linebacker in the NFL) John Offerdahl went to school there. That is enough to get the Mongrel on board, but the Western Michigan staff also used the greatest weapon in their arsenal. They photo-shopped Taylor Swift's face on recruiting material with Jack Isenberger from Zionsville, Indiana. http://blogs.indystar.com/recruitingcentral/2009/07/crunch-time-for.html Isenberger has strong interest in Wright State and Miami of Ohio but since the Taylor Swift card has never been used unsuccessfully, the Mongrel suggests betting on the Mustangs. In fact, double down!

4) Here is a link from IllinoisHSBasketball.com who had a very interesting blog last year but it stopped being updated for a while and it looks like Mr. Poneman is back online. Here is a link to a story from what sounds like a killer Mac Irvin Fire vs Team STAT game which featured Austin Rivers who is rumored to be close to a decommitment and Illinois HS basketball also says in its twitter that Coach K and Tom Crean and others were on hand. http://illinoishsbasketball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=868&Itemid=1 Keep an eye on Mr Rivers. Tweet tweet.

5) The Vill 14U have an absolutely dominant incoming freshman named Daryl Hicks who is going to Shelbyville. He was held in check for once in the title game of the 14U bracket. There is no doubt he is an elite player in his class and he has big time athleticism and a strong mature frame and is already being watched by Indiana, Ohio State, Xavier, Michigan State, Illinois, and other Kentucky incoming freshmen such as Trinity's James Quick who looked outstanding. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/07/ville-falls-short-in-14s.html In the Sunday afternoon game he hit a few 3 pointers and had some unreal drives finished off with finger rolls and just couldn't be stopped. Hicks' teammate Shane Hatcher was the leading scorer with 17. Hatcher is a strong kid who might project as a small forward but will certainly benefit from the attention placed on his star teammate. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090712/SPORTS/907120356/1030/rss0704 Also note the game Cody Zeller had which inspired Brian Snow to publicly apologize for not ranking Zeller on twitter.


6) The previous Demling article mentions the Spiece Indy Stars 2012 win (their second consecutive tournament) over the Wisconsin Playground Warriors 72-66. Rhett Smith had an outstanding game scoring 16 points and I always liked him but he is showing a bit more athleticism than I gave him credit for. He had a foul called on an outstanding block he had in the semi-final that really underscored he can get up. He also showed the ability to look good shooting deep. He shows potential to be a very good small forward. Jeremy Hollowell and Ron Patterson had another great game as well. Hollowell had to go toe to toe with JP Tokoto and came out on top for the second time in a week. Jody Demling likes Tokoto more than Burgette, Patterson, and Hollowell. That is a tough one to call. I think Patterson is the best player right now and Hollowell outplayed Tokoto head to head over the last couple of championship games and has even more outstanding upside. But Tokoto and Burgette will be outstanding players too. I could defend any of the four. If Tokoto adds some range to his game he will probably end up a McDonalds All American and Burgette is a wonderful forward who gets better every time out. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/2009/07/spiece-team-wins-15s-title.html Demling also has nice things to say about another couple of Louisville Trinity players (Charles Foster and Kyle Saxon) as well as Indianapolis stars RJ Hunter and Harry Willis. Patterson and Hollowell for the Indy Stars have indicated some interest in winding up in college together and seem to be drawing non-stop attention from Bruce Weber, Mick Cronin, Tom Crean, and other coaches this July. They made quite a stir by showing up for a couple of games wearing Ohio State shorts. Thad Matta may have snuck in when the Mongrel wasn't watching but he seems to be the one serious suitor not following the duo like the previously mentioned group. The move is sure to be seen in the paranoid world of recruiting as indicating OSU is out in front, it will be interesting to see if the Stars continue to draw the same crowd of pursuers the rest of July. The Mongrel suspects these two kids are just being playful, but it will be interesting to keep an eye on their recruitment.


7) The 16U players at Kentucky Hoopfest were outstanding. There were some grumblings about 17U talent at the event but the 16U plate was full. The good Mongrel had the chance to take in outstanding performances from Warsaw's Nic Moore who has drawn Matt Painter to at least one high school game and had an outstanding first half in the semi-final. He is about 5'8 but can jump and has a sweet stroke. He's got all the quickness that the handful of guys his size have that make it to high majors, it will be fun to see who steps up and offers Moore. Playing alongside Dee Davis and Jeremiah Davis gives coaches a point guard smorgasbord to check from. I pointed out Davis looking outstanding in a couple of other posts and he is really raising his stock this July. Kentucky and Indiana were schools to offer Davis early but there has been speculation that Kentucky wanted to take another look and bring him back to campus again and similar questions with Indiana but Davis would appear to have met those questions. Austin Etherington and Deng Leek had some good moments, both have a lot of potential but probably need to develop for a year or two to show what kind of players they can be. Etherington had a couple of nice tip ins and hit a deep ball but needs to get stronger with the ball. As does Deng who is looking a bit stronger than last couple of times I saw him. He and Cheir Ajou can really alter shots and Ajou shows some range as well but has had his minutes limited in this tournament with a tender ankle. Some Michigan players had outstanding tournaments as well. James Johnson had a huge game for Team Pride against IE Team Indiana and Matt Poches from Harland HS had a big game on Sunday as well. Johnson often set up at the free throw line with his back to the basket on offense and caught the pass to initiate the offense, then showed nice decision making in finding the open man or the guy who could get to the hole. He also hit several baskets himself and had a great game. Avon's Kendall Griffin had a couple of nice games in this tournament for Spiece Select 2011, he shows the ability to shoot and has good size for a point guard and is shaping up to be a top sleeper in the class of 2011. Cody Zeller and Matt Carlino are a treat to watch for Indiana Elite Orange. Zeller took over in his morning game and ended up with 25 points and Carlino had a few buckets but had lots of assists and made good decisions as coaches sons are known for. 16U kids might not like me saying so, but the best player in the 16U division might have been Jeffersonville's Daryl Baker who was playing up two years.

8) Mounds Meridian 2010 star Hoopy Jones has picked up an offer from the Indiana State Sycamores. Jones was getting great reviews this past week for his play with the Illinois Bobcats. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/ijones.html

9) Indianapolis Pike junior to be Marques Teague is calling Louisville his favorite to Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports in a blog entry yesterday. http://community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/2009/07/12/en_route_to_peach_jam_ Normally I don't pay a lot of attention to calling someone your favorite but a couple of days ago Teague said he knew where he wants to go but will take visits with his Mom and combined with him saying Rick Pitino is his favorite, expect Louisville to get the most talented guard in the class of 2011 when the July evaluation period wraps up.

10) Branden Dawson told GoldandBlack.com's Brian Neubert that Purdue is his favorite and he plans on deciding next year. Indiana is in hot pursuit and has hosted Dawson a couple of times but the school for Purdue to watch for is probably UCLA who just had Dawson in for a camp. I doubt Dawson shuttles back and forth to Pauley Pavilion on his own dime every June so when he gets that solid UCLA offer and doesn't commit Purdue fans can breath easier. There were earlier reports that his mom wanted him to stay close to home for college. But that is kind of like a sky is blue story, you don't want the kid on your team whose mom wants him to go to school farther away from home.

More July updates from Cincy, Milwaukee, Indy, and Lebron

Lebron James Skills Academy

Here are some helpful links to keep up with the action as the evaluation period heats up. The Mongrel reported on several of these kids already, but here are many more in a nice blog entry from Jody Demling updating day 1 from around the country especially Lebron James Skills Academy. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

Hugh Kellenberger of the Herald Times in Bloomington, Indiana is at the Lebron James event and is providing some great twitter updates. http://twitter.com/HWKellenberger Hugh does a great blog called quickhits you should check out as well if you are interested in prep hoops or other sports in central Indiana.

NBE basketblog has updates on Mac Irvin Fire and Marquette and Indiana target Reggie Smith and others at the event. http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/07/07/lebron-james-skills-academy-day-i/

NY2LA Milwuakee

New York 2 LA is underway with several Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin teams represented.

The 2010 field includes Vander Blue, Jesse Berry, Chad Calcuterra, Flavien Davis, Xavier Jones, Mike McCall, Zach McCabe, Lucas Holt, Jake Kitchell, Mario Redmond, Colin Voss and others. http://ny2lasports.com/2009NextLevelInvitational2010Prospectslook.htm

The 2011 field includes Marcus Crider, Mitch McGary, Darrell Longstreet, Josh Oglesby, Donivine Stewart, Travis Trice, Quevyn Winters, Leavon Head, Jeremiah Jones, Ryan Majerle, Tavien Pomlee, Jason Pretzer, and others. http://ny2lasports.com/09NextLevel2011ProspectsPreview.htm

Day one saw many stars having big days including...

Ben Brackney from Chicago Lincoln (2010) lit it up from three on day one at the NY2LA event in Milwaukee for the Illinois Warriors.
http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/july1.html

NY2LA recap from day one talks about big games from Vander Blue, Jake Kitchell, former Iowa commit Chase Creekmur, Diovine Stewart, Marcus Crider, Purdue and Marquette target Quevyn Winters, Tyrone Sherman and some incoming freshmen including their #1 prospect nationally Peter Jok and the Grand Rapids Storm's Drake Harris. http://ny2lasports.com/NextLevelDay1recap.htm

Hoosier Shootout Info

Illinois Old Gold went 2-0 Monday and got good games out of Lane Barlow, Patrick Miller, and Desmond Marks. http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/july1.html

Eric Gaines from Hillcrest and Roy Lester from Crete-Monee had good games for Orange Crush (which the Mongrel can confirm and mentioned in the last recap) and Chicagohoops is on top of it as well.

Chicagohoops also mentions the 17U Peoria Irish who had good games from not only Jeff Johnson and Josh Piper mentioned in an earlier update but also Victor Davis from Galesburg. The good Mongrel did not get a chance to see the Irish's 16U team which is playing up a grade but they got good games from Mongrel favorite Hayden Hordeman and others as well.

Chris Hawkins' 2012 Spiece Indy Stars went 3-0 in pool play including today's 79-46 win with Jeremy Hollowell scoring 16, Kellon Thomas with 14, Ron Patterson 10, and Austin Burgett tallying 8.

Hoosierhoopsreport's Jim Reamer is at the Hoosier Shootout today and giving some twitter updates. Kendal Griffin, Zach Van DeWater, and others played well yesterday for the Spiece Select 2011who are playing up a year and finished 2nd in their pool and are still alive. http://www.hoosierhoopsreport.com/

Adidas It Takes 5 updates

Eric Gordon All Stars 17U lost their elimination game on day 2 at the Adidas It Takes 5 classic. Josh Humphrey of Chicago Crete-Monee was hot from deep on day one. The Mongrel saw him this spring and was impressed. Purdue commitment Terone Johnson got great reviews from rivals'com analyst Jerry Meyer in this pay article from day one at the event. http://purdue.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=962668

Blackandgold.com's Brian Neubert has been giving twitter updates and the Eric Gordon All Stars lost with Terone Johnson bouncing back for a strong second half scoring 12 of his 14 in the half as well as getting 6 assists.
http://twitter.com/GoldandBlackcom