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Pac-10 crop is impressive
Posted: Wednesday December 06, 2000 2:42 PM
Last week we began an in-depth examination of the results of the fall national signing period (Nov. 8-15) by looking at the ACC, the conference which overall fared best.
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| FALL 2000 PAC-10 RECRUITS |
| 1. 6-8 1/2 Conn. PF Julian Sensley (California) |
| 2. 6-7 Calif. SF Andre Patterson (UCLA) |
| 3. 6-6 Calif. WG/SF Josh Childress (Stanford) |
| 4. 6-6 Calif. SF/WG Dijon Thompson (UCLA) |
| 5. 6-11 Calif. C Jamal Sampson (California) |
| 6. 6-5 Calif. PG/WG Cedric Bozeman (UCLA) |
| 7. 6-8 Kan. PF Dennis Latimore (Arizona) |
| 8. 6-2 Ore. WG/PG Salim Stoudamire (Arizona) |
| 9. 6-11 Ariz. C Channing Frye (Arizona) |
| 10. 6-9 1/2 Va. C Rob Little (Stanford) |
| 11. 5-10 Ill. PG Will Bynum (Arizona) |
| 12. 6-2 Calif. WG/PG Errick Craven (USC) |
| 13. 6-2 Calif. PG Chris Hernandez (Stanford) |
| 14. 6-5 Wash. SF/WG Erroll Knight (Washington) |
| 15. 6-11 Calif. C/PF Rory O'Neil (USC) |
| 16. 6-7 Idaho JC SF Jerry Dupree (USC) |
| 17. 6-11 Wash. C Michael Fey (UCLA) |
| 18. 6-0 Calif. PG Joe See (Oregon State) |
| 19. 6-9 Calif. C/PF Isaiah Fox (Arizona) |
| 20. 6-3 Calif. PG/WG Jason Braxton (Arizona State) |
| 21. 6-4 1/2 Calif. WG/SF Floyd North (Oregon State) |
| 22. 6-2 Calif. WG J.S. Nash (Oregon State) |
| 23. 6-7 Wash. SF Erik Bond (California) |
| 24. 6-2 Calif. WG/PG Derrick Craven (USC) |
| 25. 6-6 Wash. JC WG/SF Josh Bernard (Washington) |
| 26. 6-9 Wash. C/PF Anthony Washington (Washington) |
| 27. 7-0 Calif. C Matt Short (Oregon) |
| 28. 6-7 1/2 Wash. C/PF Josh Williams (Washington) |
| 29. 6-8 Wash. PF Mike Jensen (Washington) |
| 30. 6-9 Wash. PF/C Jeffrey Day (Washington) |
| 31. 6-4 Wash. WG Thomas Kelati (Washington State) |
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The ACC's margin, as we noted, was very slim over the second-place finisher, the Pac-10, whose members landed three of our preseason top 25 high school seniors (counting one who verbally committed but hasn't yet signed), eight of the top 50, 17 of the top 100, and 23 of the top 200, plus two top-100-caliber junior college sophomores.
Our focus this week will be upon the Pac-10; next week we'll highlight the Southeastern Conference (which was third in fall recruiting success), and then (in order) will come Conference USA, the Big Ten, the Big East, the Big 12, and finally everyone else.
Turning back to the Pac-10, in school-by-school results, four members of this conference have fall recruiting classes that rank among the top 13 nationally, another has corralled a national top-25 crop, and two others also have solid groups of signees that rank among the national top 60. UCLA and Arizona each have assembled an array of recruits that are among the nation's five best, while California, Stanford and Southern California aren't far behind.
All five of these schools have signed at least three well-regarded, ranked players, as has Oregon State. Washington has also assembled a potentially strong recruiting class. Only Arizona State, Oregon and Washington State (with one signee each) did not experience significant recruiting success this fall. Note that had verbally committed 6-11 BF/C Rick Rickert (ranked No. 20 nationally in the class of 2001) actually signed with Arizona instead of reneging and opting for home-state Minnesota, the Wildcats' fall recruiting crop would have been ranked No. 1 in the league.
We consider the best fall Pac-10 signee to be 6-8 1/2 power forward Julian Sensley (ranked No. 12 nationally), a native of Hawaii who signed with California and is prepping at St. Thomas More Academy in Oakdale, Conn. Sensley is strong, athletic, very aggressive, a smooth jump-shooter and a skilled ballhandler. He should be a key performer from Day One for Ben Braun's Golden Bears.
Note that our choice as the second-best Pac-10 fall recruit (by a hair over 6-6 Stanford wing signee Josh Childress ), 6-7 Los Angeles Washington Prep SF/PF Andre Patterson (No. 24), has given UCLA a verbal commitment but will wait until spring before inking a binding national letter-of-intent. This extremely impressive run/jump athlete moved to Los Angeles last spring from Fort Wayne, Ind., where he starred at Concordia High.
Now let's analyze the recruiting of each Pac-10 school. The schools are listed in the order of the quality of recruiting class. We've also listed in the table above all 31 Pac-10 recruits in order of potential, based on our current individual rankings.
| FALL 2000 PAC-10 RECRUITING |
1. UCLA (No. 3 class nationally)
6-7 Los Angeles Washington Prep SF/PF Andre Patterson (No. 24), verbal; 6-6 Redondo Beach (Calif.) Redondo Union SF/WG Dijon Thompson (No. 31); 6-5 1/2 Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei PG/WG Cedric Bozeman (No. 40); 6-11 Olympia (Wash.) Capital C Michael Fey (No. 95); and 6-6 sophomore SF Spencer Gloger, a transfer from Princeton. |
| With three blue-chip recruits (assuming Patterson signs), Steve Lavin's Bruins have reloaded by filling their future perimeter needs, in particular. |
2. ARIZONA (No. 5)
6-8 Halstead (Kan.) High PF Dennis Latimore (No. 42); 6-2 Lake Oswego (Ore.) High WG/PG Salim Stoudamire (No. 46); 6-11 Phoenix St. Mary's C Channing Frye (No. 56); 5-10 Chicago Crane Tech PG Will Bynum (No. 66); and 6-9 Santa Monica (Calif.) Crossroads C/PF Isaiah Fox (No. 109). |
| Reneged commitment Rick Rickert (who plays like a young Christian Laettner) would certainly have helped, but Lute Olson still has a promising, well-balanced quintet that should reap big dividends down the road. |
3. CALIFORNIA (No. 12)
6-8 1/2 Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More PF Julian Sensley (No. 12); 6-11 Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei C Jamal Sampson (No. 36); and 6-7 Seattle Prep SF Erik Bond (No. 160). |
| If Sampson (a cousin of former Virginia All-American Ralph) continues to work hard and to improve, this could emerge as an outstanding recruiting class. |
4. STANFORD (No. 13)
6-6 Lakewood (Calif.) Mayfair WG/SF Josh Childress (No. 25); 6-9 1/2 Fairfax (Va.) Pope Paul VI C Rob Little (No. 65); and 6-2 Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West PG Chris Hernandez (No. 74). |
| While versatile Childress is the real headliner of this trio, each possesses the talent to become a starter for a nationally ranked team. |
5. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (No. 24)
6-2 Torrance (Calif.) Bishop Montgomery WG/PG Errick Craven (No. 70); 6-11 Ridgecrest (Calif.) Burroughs C/PF Rory O'Neil (No. 93); 6-2 Torrance (Calif.) Bishop Montgomery WG/PG Derrick Craven (No. 188); and 6-7 Southern Idaho JC SF Jerry Dupree (top-50 JC sophomore). |
| Henry Bibby has done a good job of rebuilding the Trojans program, and although there's been some controversy regarding the recruitment of Dupree, this group should ensure that USC remains a strong contender for the upper division of the Pac-10. |
6. OREGON STATE (top 35)
6-0 Concord (Calif.) De La Salle PG Joe See (No. 99); 6-4 1/2 San Diego St. Augustine WG/SF Floyd North (No. 128); and 6-2 Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde WG J.S. Nash (No. 139). |
| After recruiting two big men last year, the Beavers have focused on perimeter help, with sharpshooting (and perhaps underrated) Nash being the sleeper of the lot. |
7. WASHINGTON (top 50)
6-5 Seattle Chief Sealth SF/WG Erroll Knight (No. 84); 6-9 Seattle Garfield C/PF Anthony Washington (top-300); 6-7 1/2 Yakima (Wash.) Davis C/PF Josh Williams (top-300, on football scholarship); 6-8 Tacoma (Wash.) Kentwood PF Mike Jensen (top-300); 6-9 Seattle Prep PF/C Jeffrey Day (unranked); 6-6 Tacoma (Wash.) CC WG/SF Josh Bernard (top-100 JC soph); and 6-7 sophomore SF Doug Wrenn, a transfer from Connecticut. |
| Bob Bender is obviously seeking to strengthen the Huskies up front, but the two most talented recruits are wing players Wrenn and Knight. |
8. ARIZONA STATE
6-3 Moreno Valley (Calif.) Canyon Springs PG/WG Jason Braxton (No. 125). |
| With a youth-laden roster (other than senior point guard Alton Mason) and just one scholarship available to give in the fall, Rob Evans had to corral backcourt help, and he did in Braxton. |
9. OREGON
7-0 Yreka (Calif.) Union C Matt Short (top-300). |
| The Ducks have three more available scholarships to give in the spring, and since they will lose a trio of senior frontcourtmen, we anticipate that one or two more inside players will be signed, along with a wing. |
10. WASHINGTON STATE
6-4 Walla Walla (Wash.) High WG Thomas Kelati (unranked). |
| With at least one more scholarship that could be given, the Cougars could use a quality power forward for next year. |
Regional Notes
Below are our current choices as the best three unsigned/uncommitted high school seniors in each geographic region, with their national rankings in parentheses and the colleges they are considering also identified.
EAST
6-11 Baltimore Gwynn Lake C Tony Key (No. 45) is considering Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Cincinnati, Louisville and others.
6-10 Milford (Conn.) Milford Academy C/PF Deng Gai (top-75) is considering Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina, Fordham, Penn State, Florida State, Georgia Tech, St. John's and Seton Hall, but he may be reclassified as a junior for academic reasons.
6-6 1/2 Fort Washington (Md.) Friendly SF Cortez Davis (No. 137) is considering Tennessee, Florida State, George Washington, Rhode Island, Villanova, Rutgers and possibly others.
SOUTH
6-9 Montgomery (Ala.) St. Jude C/PF Ousmane Cisse (No. 3) is considering Louisville, Arkansas, Virginia, Duke, Kentucky, Memphis, Seton Hall and others.
7-0 Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy C DeSagana Diop (No. 8) is considering Virginia, North Carolina, Miami (Fla.) and the NBA.
6-11 Nashville Brentwood Academy C David Harrison (No. 14) is considering Vanderbilt, Colorado, North Carolina, Duke and Louisville.
MIDWEST
6-7 Indianapolis (Ind.) Park-Tudor SF Vytautas Danielus (top-100) is considering Wake Forest, New Mexico, Notre Dame, N.C. State and others.
6-4 1/2 Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege SF Jamar Howard (No. 110) is considering Iowa State, Wichita State, Kansas State and possibly UCLA and/or Kansas.
6-3 Detroit Henry Ford WG Dion Sherrill (No. 145) is considering Xavier, Eastern Michigan, Duquesne, Marquette, Bowling Green, San Diego State and possibly others.
SOUTHWEST
6-9 Bellaire (Texas) High C/PF Emeka Okafor (No. 103) is considering Stanford, Vanderbilt, Rice and possibly others.
6-8 Clarksville (Ark.) High PF/C Gavin Ludgood (No. 184) is considering Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Texas and others.
6-9 Houston Eisenhower PF Marcus Sloan (No. 186) is considering Kansas, LSU, Colorado State, Arkansas, UTEP, Houston and Stanford.
WEST
7-1 Compton (Calif.) Dominguez C Tyson Chandler (No. 6) is considering UCLA, Michigan, Memphis, Syracuse, Florida and the NBA.
6-9 Oakland Tech PF/C Demarshay Johnson (No. 76) is considering Southern California, Louisville, Rhode Island, Arizona State, San Francisco, Alabama and San Diego State.
6-4 Huntington Beach (Calif.) Ocean View WG/SF Marques Crane (No. 146) is considering Cal State-Fullerton, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas State, UC Santa Barbara and others.
Brick Oettinger is talent evaluator for the Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook and recruiting columnist for the ACC Area Sports Journal. For more information on either publication, call 1-800-447-7667. |
