You may recall that in late August of 2000 we provided in this space a post-summer/preseason list of the nation's top 30 prep senior centers. More than six months later, it's time for our end-of-season rankings of the best 33 high school center prospects, regardless of class. This list filters in those underclassmen who appear to be particularly promising, and it is the first of five updated national positioners that we'll provide in March and April. Next week we'll look at the power forwards.
Among the decisions we've had to make in compiling this ranking of the premier big men are the following: Should ace Alabaman Ousmane Cisse be considered a center (his high school, AAU and likely college position) or a power forward (his future NBA position)? We finally opted to leave him as a center, for now. Also, how do we treat players (such as Robert Whaley from Michigan) who missed a significant portion of the season because of ineligibility, suspension or injury? We did include Whaley (who continues to face rape allegations going back to last November), but not nearly as high as we once had him. Those who were unable to play whatsoever during the 2000-2001 season, however, were omitted from the list below, even though 6-10 Florida junior Amare Stoudemire would rank among the top four centers had he been eligible and 7-0 junior Martin Iti (who returned to his native Australia after being declared ineligible in California) would be in the top 20.
Before we list the top 33 prep centers, let's mention a pair of relative disappointments among the senior big men, given their preseason reputations. They are 7-0 lefthander Marcus Campbell, a Mississippi State signee attending Albany (Ga.) Westover, and somewhat methodical 7-0 Syracuse recruit Craig Forth from East Greenbush (N.Y.) Columbia. Neither is among the 33 centers on our list, though they would have been included had we gone 40 deep.
NATIONAL TOP 33 CENTERS
(regardless of class) |
|---|
| Player |
Year |
Height |
School |
| 1. Eddy Curry |
Senior |
6-11 |
South Holland (Ill.) Thornwood |
| The DePaul signee has had a few less-than-stellar performances but remains the best combination of power (290 pounds), athleticism and skills. He still may enter the NBA draft this year. |
| 2. Ousmane Cisse |
Senior |
6-8 |
Montgomery (Ala.) St. Jude |
| An unsigned Mali native who sat out his team's final 11 games because of a knee injury deemed not serious. The best run/jump athlete of the lot (along with junior Amare Stoudemire), he's considering Louisville, Duke, Virginia, Arkansas and the NBA.
|
| 3. Tyson Chandler |
Senior |
7-1 |
Compton (Calif.) Dominguez |
| Very fast and agile but needs more physical strength (223 pounds). He'll likely enter the 2001 NBA draft, although it's not inconceivable that he could sign this spring with UCLA, Memphis or Michigan. |
| 4. David Harrison |
Senior |
6-11 |
Nashville (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy |
| Had a big senior season after playing on the football team (!) last fall. His final four are hometown Vanderbilt, Colorado, North Carolina and Duke. |
| 5. DeSagana Diop |
Senior |
7-0 |
Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy |
| An unsigned and highly intimidating (300 pounds) Senegal native who missed the final five games of the season because of a stress fracture in his left foot. He'll probably opt for Virginia or North Carolina, although he still hasn't eliminated the possibility of entering the NBA draft. |
| 6. Sani Ibrahim |
Junior |
6-11 |
Winchendon (Mass.) Winchendon School |
| A native of Nigeria who played as a sophomore in Atlanta. He's already outstanding at both ends of the court. |
| 7. Brandon Bender |
Senior |
6-10 |
Louisville (Ky.) Ballard |
| MVP of the prestigious Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Unsigned, he's considering Kentucky, Louisville, West Virginia, Connecticut, Alabama, Tennessee and perhaps others. |
| 8. DeAngelo Collins |
Junior |
6-10 |
Inglewood (Calif.) High |
| A fine athlete with a huge upside, though he was outplayed by Ibrahim last fall in a head-to-head meeting. |
| 9. Alexander Johnson |
Junior |
6-10 |
Albany (Ga.) Dougherty |
| A true student-athlete whose national stock has risen markedly this season. He's now being wooed by Cincinnati, Memphis, North Carolina, Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Georgia Tech and many others. |
| 10. Shelden Williams |
Junior |
6-9 1/2 |
Midwest City (Okla.) High |
| He's added at least 15 pounds since last summer and isn't quite as athletic as he was, but still a big-time prospect. |
| 11. Major Wingate |
Sophomore |
6-10 |
Florence (S.C.) Wilson |
| A well-proportioned 235-pound insider with enormous potential, assuming he continues to work hard on his game. |
| 12. Jamal Sampson |
Senior |
6-11 |
Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei |
| The California signee has a reputation for being soft and not physically tough, but he has played well down the stretch of the season. |
| 13. Tony Key |
Senior |
6-11 |
Compton (Calif.) Centennial |
| An unsigned move-in from Russellville, Ky., who reportedly needs to upgrade his academic credentials. If the 275-pounder does, West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky and others are interested. |
| 14. Paul Davis |
Junior |
6-10 |
Rochester Hills (Mich.) Rochester |
| A skilled and aggressive underclassman who has already give Michigan State a very early verbal commitment. |
| 15. Michael Southall |
Fifth-year senior |
6-10 |
Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy |
| The Georgia Tech recruit is a Wisconsin native who excelled this season as a rebounder/rejector. |
| 16. Eric Williams |
Junior |
6-9 |
Wake Forest-Rolesville (N.C.) High |
| The 300-pounder erupted onto the national scene in late December by thoroughly outplaying 6-11 McDonald's All-American Rick Rickert at the Glaxo Wellcome Holiday Invitational in Raleigh, N.C. |
| 17. Robert Whaley |
Senior |
6-10 |
Benton Harbor (Mich.) High |
| A talented but enigmatic player who signed in November with Missouri but reportedly has been released from his national letter-of-intent because of off-the-court troubles referred to above. |
| 18. Shagari Alleyne |
Sophomore |
7-2 |
Manhattan (N.Y.) Rice |
| Didn't scintillate in national events last summer, but during the current season has developed very rapidly into a deluxe shot blocker. |
| 19. Michael Thompson |
Junior |
6-10 |
New Lenox (Ill.) Providence Catholic |
| The Duke commitment averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots per game during the 2000-2001 regular season. |
| 20. Christopher Hunter |
Junior |
6-11 |
Gary (Ind.) Westside |
| A rangy athlete who has progressed swiftly to average 26 points and 13 rebounds this season. |
| 21. Aliou Kane |
Junior |
6-10 |
Dyke (Va.) Blue Ridge Academy |
| A native of Senegal who gave Diop fits in a narrow loss to top-ranked Oak Hill Academy. |
| 22. Emeka Okafor |
Senior |
6-9 |
Bellaire (Texas) High |
| An unsigned native of Nigeria who possesses outstanding athleticism. A strong student with a 1,300 SAT, he's considering Vanderbilt, Rice, Connecticut, North Carolina, New Mexico, N.C. State and perhaps others. |
| 23. Jordan Collins |
Senior |
6-11 |
Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha |
| The N.C. State signee shoots well and plays hard but is just a pretty good athlete. |
| 24. Torin Francis |
Junior |
6-10 |
Marion (Mass.) Tabor Academy |
| Has been outshined this season by teammate Jermaine Watson (a senior combo guard headed to Boston College), but definitely a big-time prospect. |
| 25. Larry Turner |
Senior |
6-11 |
Milledgeville (Ga.) Baldwin |
| The Georgia recruit is a rejector and rebounder who is improving his scoring tools. |
| 26. Channing Frye |
Senior |
6-11 |
Phoenix (Ariz.) St. Mary's |
| The Arizona signee is slender but very mobile. |
| 27. Rob Little |
Senior |
6-9 |
Fairfax (Va.) Pope Paul VI |
| The 265-pound Stanford recruit has worked hard to become a dangerous low-post scorer. |
| 28. Darius Manciel |
Fifth-year senior |
6-10 |
Winchendon (Mass.) Winchendon School |
| The Texas Christian signee is a Michigan native who at times played better than touted teammate Ibrahim! |
| 29. Simplice Njoya |
Senior |
6-11 |
Dobbs Ferry (N.Y.) Masters School |
| The native African is a deluxe run/jump athlete but somewhat raw on offense. After signing in November with UNLV, he has asked for his release because of the firing of Runnin' Rebels coach Bill Bayno. |
| 30. Sharrod Ford |
Fifth-year senior |
6-9 |
Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy |
| The Clemson recruit is an agile former Brandywine (Md.) Gwynn Park star who shared time at loaded Hargrave with Southall. |
| 31. Will Sheridan |
Sophomore |
6-9 |
Hockessin (Del.) Sanford School |
| Shows promise of becoming the best big man ever from his home state. |
| 32. Rory O'Neil |
Senior |
6-11 |
Ridgecrest (Calif.) Burroughs |
| The Southern California signee is rangy and a good shooter, but he needs to build up his strength. |
| 33. Michael Fey |
Senior |
6-11 |
Olympia (Wash.) Capital |
| The UCLA recruit is a promising lefthander whose game requires a little more polish. |
| |
Staying with the focus on big men, we've identified one underclass sleeper for each geographic region of the nation. Also, a couple of recent verbal commitments are listed.
