| |
20 for 2000 An early look at the hot recruits heading into next season
Posted: Monday June 07, 1999 06:58 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI The class of '99 is still four months from stepping on a college court, but for recruiting followers, it's already time to move on to the next millenium. The shape of the 2000 recruiting class won't really take shape until the traditional summer shoe camps, but the abundance of spring AAU and high-school tournaments has allowed experts to start forming their lists. Here's 10 names you'll be hearing a lot about this summer: 1) Gerald Wallace, a wingman from Childersburg, Ala., put on such a show at a Memorial Day tournament in North Carolina that quotes like this one from Bob Gibbons were spotted: "The best player of the tournament and the nation." Unfortunately for college hoops fans, the 6-foot-7 Ron Mercer-like Wallace seems to be focused on playing at an even higher level. 2) Darius Miles, a 6-9 center from East St. Louis, Ill., plays on the same AAU squad that produced Quentin Richardson and Corey Maggette. The top post player in his class, Miles has a list of interested schools as long as his wing-span. 3) DeShawn Stevenson, 6-5 shooting guard from Fresno, Calif., tops many wish lists, including those of UCLA, Arizona, Cal and Duke, where incoming freshman Carlos Boozer was an AAU teammate of Stevenson's. 4) There have been reports that 6-9 power forward Alton Ford of Houston has already committed to Clyde Drexler's hometown Cougars, but Ford also lists Texas, A&M and several other Southwestern schools as contenders. 5) With Mateen Cleaves graduating after next season, competitors like Kentucky might be hard pressed to beat out the Spartans for 6-3 Lansing, Mich., point guard Marcus Taylor. 6) Eddie Griffin, a 6-7 Tim Thomas protege out of Philadelphia, lists hometown Temple among his top five, along with Seton Hall, UMass, Maryland and North Carolina, the Tar Heels having made a scholarship offer. 7) Beside Griffin, 6-1 point guard Omar Cook tops Bill Guthridge's priority list in Chapel Hill. Cook, along with Taliek Brown and Andre Barrett (see below) comprise a magnificent trip of New York City point guards. 8) Jerome Harper is a 6-5 shooting guard from Keenan, S.C., whose early list of schools includes Duke, N.C. State, UCLA, UConn, Michigan and Cincinnati. 9) The storyline is obvious for 6-9 power forward Jared Jeffries of Bloomington, Ind.: Can Bob Knight keep Jeffries in town and save his sinking ship? IU and Kentucky are among a long list of schools on his mind. 10) Some rare recent good news for Duke fans: 6-0 point guard Chris Duhon of Slidell, La., is a self-proclaimed Blue Devil devotee, even saying so during a recent appearance on UNC's campus. Ten more to know (name, height, pos., hometown, schools considering): 11) Taliek Brown 6-1 PG, New York City. St. John's, UMass, UCLA, UNC, Utah, Maryland. 12) Zach Randolph, 6-7 PF, Marion, Ind.. Michigan State, Cincinnati, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, other Midwest. 13) Andre Barrett 5-9 PG, New York City. UConn, Syracuse, UCLA, Clemson, St. John's, others. 14) Imari Sawyer 6-1 PG, Chicago. Rhode Island, Georgia Tech and others. 15) Desmond Farmer 6-4 SG, Flint, Mich. Xavier, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, others. 16) Rolando Howell 6-10 C, Hopkins, SC. South Carolina leads (brother Ivan an incoming frosh). 17) Chris Wilcox 6-9 PF, Whitesville, N.C. UNC leads but most of ACC being mentioned. 18) Reo Logan 6-10 PF, Country Club Hills, Ill. Lists several Big Ten and SEC schools. 19) Dwon Clifton 6-5 SG, High Point, N.C. N.C. State, Wake Forest, Clemson. 20) Abdou Diame 6-8 C, Oak Hill Academy (Va.). Kentucky, Maryland, others. Finally, plant these names in your mind for now: Stay tuned to CNN/SI over the coming months as we launch comprehensive coverage of the 1999-2000 recruiting season. |
