EVENTS
Sportsman of the Year
Heisman Trophy
Swimsuit 2001
CENTERS
Fantasy Central
Inside Game
Video Plus
Statitudes
Your Turn
Message Boards
Email Newsletters
Golf Guide
Cities
CNNSI.com GROUP
Sports Illustrated
Life of Reilly
SI Women
SI for Kids
Press Room
TBS/TNT Sports
CNN Languages
COMMERCE
SI Customer Service
SI Media Kits
Get into College
Sports Memorabilia
TeamStore
|  |
Making a name
Many seniors secured a top-100 spot with stellar play
Posted: Tuesday July 24, 2001 2:16 PM
Updated: Tuesday August 07, 2001 6:28 PM
With the final week (July 25-31) of the summer observation/evaluation period nearly upon us, let's assess the high school rising seniors (including fifth-year preps) who have gained and lost the most during the past few weeks. Of those who have advanced their national status significantly, some were already in our pre-summer national top 100 but have raised their rankings at least 20 places, while others began the summer outside the top 100 but have moved (in some cases) all the way into the top 50, at this writing. On the other hand, a few members of the class of 2002 started the summer in our top 50 but now are not in the top 100, based on their recent performances.
Within the pre-summer top 55, three individuals have risen 20 or more places: 6-10 C Michael Thompson (verbally committed to Duke) of suburban Chicago, 7-0 Boston area C Keith Butler, and 6-5 Florida swingman Rashad Anderson. Even bigger jumps (from outside the top 100 into the top 55) have been made by 6-7 1/2 SF Antoine Wright (a Californian prepping in Massachusetts), 6-9 Texas C/PF Ike Diogu and 6-9 Wisconsin combo forward Steve Novak, who has committed to Marquette.
In stark contrast, both 5-10 Kentucky PG Brandon Stockton (who plans to attend Kentucky) and 6-2 Ohio WG/PG Rob Hite have plummeted from the top 60 to outside the national top 100. Among the truly elite prospects, 6-11 prep school C Sani Ibrahim and 6-2 Chicago PG Sean Dockery have dropped at least a dozen places yet are promising enough to remain within the top 25. More details on each of these individuals and others are provided below.
Seniors on the rise
6-10, 240-pound New Lenox (Ill.) Providence Catholic C Michael Thompson has gotten the message (from the Duke staff?) that he needs to play more aggressively and assertively, and he did just that, with great success, at the Nike All-America Camp in Indianapolis.
7-0 C Keith Butler, a fifth-year player expected to prep in 2001-02 at Winchendon (Mass.) School, proved through his play at the Nike Camp that he has blue-chip potential as a rebounder/rejector who can also score near the hoop.
6-5 Lakeland (Fla.) Kathleen SF/WG Rashad Anderson has improved his once-suspect shot selection and uses his strength to finish slashes to the basket with regularity. He, like Butler, claims a long list of collegiate possibilities.
6-7 1/2 Groton (Mass.) Lawrence Academy SF Antoine Wright, a native of San Bernadino, Calif., erupted onto the national scene via stellar performances at the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J., where he scored 16 points for the winning side in the Senior All-Star Game. He's a very fine athlete who possesses impressive ball-handling skills and ample scoring tools.
6-9, 240-pound Garland (Texas) High C/PF Ike Diogu, another African import (like Ibrahim and many others), also powered his way into national prominence at the adidas ABCD Camp.
6-9 Brown Deer (Wis.) High SF/PF Steve Novak, a superb 3-point shooter, played better and better throughout the adidas ABCD Camp and since has committed to Marquette over Illinois and Florida.
6-5 Carroll (Iowa) Community High SF/WG Adam Haluska, who gave Iowa State a very early commitment last year, proved to be another pleasant surprise at the adidas ABCD Camp.
6-7 Portland (Maine) Deering SF/PF Nik Caner-Medley was such a standout at the adidas ABCD Camp that he gained and accepted a scholarship offer from Maryland shortly thereafter. He averaged 27.5 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots as a junior, and was also sought by Missouri, Connecticut and Virginia.
Huge 6-11 Oklahoma City (Okla.) Northeast C Julius Lamptey demonstrated at the Nike Camp that he has improved markedly during the past year.
6-10 Tacoma (Wash.) Woodrow Wilson C/PF Kevin Field has seen his national status increase considerably based on his strong play at the Nike Camp.
Extremely active 6-4 swingman Shawn Harris, who will be a fifth-year prep at Fork Union (Va.) Fork Union Military Academy, came from almost nowhere to make the Senior All-Star Game at the adidas ABCD Camp.
6-3 Somers (N.Y.) John F. Kennedy PG Donnie McGrath, who has verbally committed to Providence, showed via his play at the adidas ABCD Camp that the Friars staff was perspicacious in giving him an early scholarship offer.
6-9 Grand Island (Neb.) High PF/SF Wes Wilkinson performed so well at the Nike Camp that he appears to be a steal for Nebraska, to which he has verbally committed.
6-8 Indianapolis Arlington PF Delco Rowley earned a scholarship from Michigan State due to his highly effective inside play at the Nike Camp.
6-8 Austin (Texas) Westlake PF/C Brad Buckman guaranteed himself big-time offers by shining at the adidas ABCD Camp.
5-11 1/2 PG Todd Galloway, a Baltimore native who'll be a fifth-year prep at Middleburg (Va.) Notre Dame Academy, repeatedly attacked the basket with success at the adidas ABCD Camp.
6-9 Redondo Beach (Calif.) Redondo Union PF Adam Zahn utilized savvy, skills and aggressiveness to score frequently from both the high and low posts at the Nike Camp.
Seniors on the decline
5-10 Glasgow (Ky.) High PG Brandon Stockton is quick and can be tricky with the ball, yet he struggled much of the time versus strong competition at the adidas ABCD Camp and thus raised questions about whether he can ever be a major factor at Kentucky.
6-2 Cincinnati Winton Woods WG/PG Rob Hite is a transition player who can definitely leap, but he tended to do little in the halfcourt set at the adidas ABCD Camp.
6-1 Birmingham (Ala.) Parkway Christian PG Jeremy Monceaux did nothing through his play to reduce his national reputation, but he suffered a potentially serious injury to his anterior cruciate ligament that has required surgery. Consequently, expect colleges (such as N.C. State, Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Georgia Tech and UAB) that were on his trail to wait to see if he's able (as expected) to return to play in the 2001-02 season.
6-2 Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy PG/WG Justin Gray has a beautiful jump-shot stroke, but his overall play at the Nike Camp was disappointing relative to his pre-camp reputation.
6-7 St. Louis Vashon SF/PF Nicholas Kern had been sold to us by a usually reliable source as a national top-100 prospect. However, at the Nike Camp he didn't show us a whole lot beyond some quickness and a sweet-looking jump shot.
6-9 Lafayette (Ind.) Central Catholic PF Tyler Best is a solid player with good fundamentals, but he's not athletic enough to win with in, say, the Big Ten.
6-9 Watertown (N.Y.) High PF/C Matt Gorman played more effectively a year ago at the adidas ABCD Camp than he did this summer, when he had considerable trouble finishing contested shots near the basket.
6-7 Chicago Providence St. Mel SF/PF Stanley Gaines was highly touted a couple of years ago but (while he has some physical talent) makes too many bad decisions on the court for our druthers.
6-11 Nigerian C/PF Sani Ibrahim, who will either return to Winchendon (Mass.) School or transfer to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy this fall, is certainly a big-time talent, and it's been speculated that he may be planning to enter the 2002 NBA draft. Nevertheless, he put on just enough weight (up to 245 pounds) that he's lost a smidgen of his former agility, which has reduced his prior ability to dominate at both ends of the court.
6-2 Chicago Julian PG Sean Dockery, headed to Duke in the fall of 2002, didn't shoot particularly well from the perimeter at either the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs or the adidas ABCD Camp. In addition, the quickest foes gave him difficulties at both ends of the court. Regardless, he's certainly capable, hence he remains within our top 25 senior prospects.
Regional nuggets
Once again, our focus is upon recent verbal commitments, late signings for the incoming freshman class, and college transfers.
EAST
6-5 Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles School wing Hawley Smith (unranked in our national top 300 for the class of 2001) signed an institutional grant-in-aid with Temple, which he was planning to attend as a walk-on this fall until a scholarship recently became available. As a senior last season, he averaged 16.4 points and 10 rebounds.
Both 6-1 Gary (Ind.) West Side rising senior PG Brandon Cameron (unranked in the top 100) and 6-11 rising senior C Rob Summers (unranked) have verbally committed to Penn State. Cameron, who averaged 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds in 2000-01, also was attracting serious interest from Georgia, SMU, Marquette, Yale, Princeton and others. In the hunt for Summers were Hampton, Robert Morris and Pittsburgh.
SOUTH
6-9 Fork Union (Va.) Fork Union Military Academy and former Humble (Texas) High C/PF Adrian Moss (No. 119 in the class of 2001) has been declared by the NCAA immediately eligible to play for Florida, where he will have four full seasons of eligibility. He was recently granted a partial release by Southwest Texas State from a national letter-of-intent he signed in the fall of 1999, and he had appealed to the NCAA for permission to play (rather than having to sit out) this coming season.
6-5 rising senior SF Dustin Braddick is transferring to South Carolina State from Clemson. He'll have to sit out the 2001-02 season and then have one year of eligibility remaining.
Both 6-7 SF Anthony Richardson of Raleigh (N.C.) Leesville Road (No. 27 in the class of 2001 and a Florida State signee) and 6-5 Nigerian SF Lucky Williams of Birmingham (Ala.) Central Park Christian (unranked and an Alabama signee) are partial academic qualifiers. Williams is expected to attend Alabama and sit out the 2001-02 season under NCAA rules, while Richardson is deciding whether to enroll at FSU (which remains his university of choice) this fall.
MIDWEST
6-4 Detroit Crockett rising senior WG Maurice Ager (currently No. 27 in the class of 2002) verbally committed to Michigan State over Michigan, Missouri, Marquette and Connecticut. He averaged 23 points and six rebounds as a junior.
6-7 Vincennes (Ind.) JC rising sophomore SF Delonte Holland, a former prep star at Greenbelt (Md.) Eleanor Roosevelt, has verbally committed to DePaul over Illinois, Purdue and Maryland. As a high school senior he signed with Rhode Island but did not qualify academically.
SOUTHWEST
6-10, 240-pound Odessa (Texas) JC rising sophomore C/PF Randy Holbrook, who was a fine prepster at St. Louis Kirkwood, has verbally committed to Xavier over Long Beach State, Arizona State, St. Louis, Seton Hall, Texas Tech and Iowa State. Last season he averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per game as a freshman at Odessa.
Well-regarded 6-7, 240-pound JC rising sophomore combo forward Terrance Thomas has verbally committed to Baylor, located in his hometown of Waco, Texas.
WEST
6-9 Dixie (Utah) JC rising sophomore PF Jaime Lloreda, a member of the Panamanian junior national team and former prep at Homestead (Fla.) Berkshire School, has verbally committed to LSU. As a high school senior he signed with Colorado but did not qualify academically.
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.
|
Copyright © 2001
CNN/Sports Illustrated
An AOL Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
|
|
