'War on the Shore' offers peek at talent

Beginning Nov. 21, college recruiters can leave campus and start observing high school and junior-college players across the country. With that in mind, they’ll be looking primarily for senior big men and the best unsigned talent, in that order.

Some schools that were lucky enough to do well in the early period and don’t have a lot of scholarships remaining will join the hunt for juniors. The Class of 2004 is loaded and college recruiters are going to beat down doors to position themselves with the younger kids.

If School X didn’t dish out its available scholarships by the end of the signing period and still needs to land kids in the spring, you can bet they’ll spend time at the upcoming War on the Shore in tiny Milford, Del.

Tournament director Bobby Jacobs, one of the most energetic guys in the business, designed a three-day event and invited most of the nation’s elite prep school teams. The event begins Nov. 22 and runs through the 24th and you can bet the house it’ll be the main attraction in Milford at that time.

What Jacobs has done is brought top tier talent and given the prep schools a venue to measure themselves and compete at a high level early in the season. From a college recruiter’s perspective, the War on the Shore is a veritable feeding frenzy.

Most of the invitees to the event are prep schools from the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic corridors, the most fertile prep school territories in the land. Getting to each of them is a priority as they tend to have plenty of “sleepers” in their ranks and more importantly, foreign big men. the War on the Shore gathers all of these schools in a central location and a feeding frenzy ensues.

While players such as Luol Deng, Charlie Villanueva and Hassan Fofana already have pledged their allegiances, kids like Femi Ibikunle haven’t.

Don’t know who Femi is? You will by Thanksgiving.

The 6-foot-8 Ibikunle plays for New Hampton Prep. A good performance at this event and he’ll blossom into a high-major priority. A so-so effort and he’ll likely still boost his stock. But, with over a hundred college coaches expected to attend, he’d be wise to capitalize on his opportunity.

As for those schools chasing juniors, the War on the Shore offers a good test for guys like Juan Palacios. The native of Columbia plays for Our Savior in New York and he’ll get to try out for colleges while playing against Deng and Villanueva of Blair Academy. That should be a good measuring stick for all three forwards.

In its first year, the War on the Shore should be a big benefit to a lot of people. Kids will great exposure; coaches can see multiple players at a sanctioned event against good competition and Jacobs will get a chance to test his theory that “the event will revolutionize private prep school basketball.”

While it’s tough to envision a revolution, we’d be pleased with a few revelations about prospects over the course of the weekend. Check back next week in this column for the complete wrap.

Cincy, Mizzou in mix for former Gator

In speaking with former Florida Gator James White, it sounds like he's got a pretty good feel for what he wants in a program the second time around.

"I want to play up and down [the court] with man-to-man defense," White said when quizzed about his college preferences. "It's just about getting after it basically."

White said that he's really looking at four schools right now.

"I'm going to take a couple of visits. I'll probably go to Cincinnati and Missouri."

Syracuse and Indiana are also in the mix.

A veteran of the recruiting process, White let the game come to him this time.

"It started first with Cincinnati and then a lot of schools called me and I narrowed it down to schools I was interested in and liked the coaches and the style of play."

White said he didn't know exactly what the date was that he needed to decide by but will enroll at a school prior to the start of the second semester and that date varies from school to school.

-- Dave Telep, TheInsidersHoops.com

West’s top-rated PG has long list

Quentin Thomas, 6-foot-3 junior point guard out of Oakland (Calif.) Tech, is the top PG guard prospect in the 2004 West Coast class and he figures to rank among the top couple point guards in the country.

Thomas told us that he hasn't started to seriously think about any colleges and he has a long list of schools that he's considering.

We asked him to name a few and he rattled off, "USC, Oregon, Arizona, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Miami... and a bunch of others."

It was our impression that no real weight should be given to the inclusion, or exclusion, of any schools.

Thomas told us that he hopes to cut his list to about fifteen schools in the next couple weeks.

"Before my high school season begins," Thomas said.

Thomas told us about some of the factors he'll consider in making his choice.

"Most important will be the areas I want to major in," Thomas said. "Business as a major and maybe graphic design as a minor. The location -- hopefully someplace where I know at least one person. Weather might be an issue. And I'd love to go get a good amount of time early, but that won't be a major issue."

Don't look for an early decision from Thomas.

"I'm not in any rush -- there is no timeframe. Most likely not until after next summer."

-- Greg Hicks, PrepWestHoops.com

It’s in the genes for Seattle’s Burleson Lyndale Burleson, a 6-2 junior point guard from Seattle Franklin, has good size and quickness, with the potential to be an outstanding defensive player. He needs to work on his shot, as well as his ball handling and passing.

We asked Burleson if he had a list of schools that he's considering.

"I haven't even started to put a list together," Burleson said. "But some of the schools I'm hearing from are Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Washington, Gonzaga, Minnesota, Arizona, USC, Texas Tech, Michigan and Cincinnati."

Burleson's older brother, Kevin, plays at Minnesota.

We asked Burleson about the issues that he'd consider when making his decision.

"I want to be recruited as a point guard," said Burleson. "I don't want to be a two-guard, or a combo -- just a point guard."

Early playing time won't be a determining factor for Burleson. "It's kind of important -- I want to play -- but I need to learn and I won't choose a school based on early playing time. If they're recruiting another point guard, that's one thing, but I don't mind sitting behind someone who is already there."

Burleson told us he has no geographical preference. "Wherever -- it doesn't matter," said Burleson. "Anywhere I'm comfortable. I grew up thinking that I'd go wherever the best opportunity was for me."

Look for Burleson's older brothers to have a say in his decision.

"They went through the process already," said Burleson. "So I'm going to talk to them and listen to what they have to say." Burleson said he'll probably take several trips before making his decision.

Burleson told us that his GPA for the current quarter was 3.3 and he'll take the SAT in the near future.

-- Greg Hicks, PrepWestHoops.com

California lands forward

Sam Rayburn, a 6-foot-10 power forward with the Portland (Ore.) Elite Legends, is headed to California. Rayburn is a member of the Class of 2004.

"We're really excited," Mary Anne Rayburn said. "We had gone down there and he just loved the place. He considered the likely options and decided that he really liked Cal."

Rayburn is one of those upside guys. He has good size and his best days are ahead of him. He played well at the 2002 Houston Kingwood Classic when we first observed him.

Apparently, some schools were starting to take notice. Though many hadn't offered him yet, Stanford, Washington, Marquette, Washington State, Arizona State, Utah, Gonzaga and Miami were showing early interest.

Rayburn is the second member of the 2004 class to pick a Pac-10 school. Guard Jawann McClennan selected Arizona back in August.

-- Dave Telep, TheInsidersHoops.com

Texas lands Juco point guard

Edgar Moreno, a point guard at Lon Morris Junior College, is headed to Austin next fall.

South Carolina and UTEP showed interest but the Longhorns were a great fit.

"Rick [Barnes] came in here and saw him last spring and loved him," Lon Morris coach Dale Dotson said. "He's not like TJ; not many are. He's bigger and stronger but not a flash. He's a good player. He's a great passer and he can run past people. He's a player."

Moreno averaged 12.9 points and 3.9 assists last season.

"He hurt his knee and tore some cartilage in the first game of the regional tournament and played on it right through the national tournament. His numbers will really pick up more this year, in fact they already have. This year he'll do a little more scoring."

Moreno visited Texas last weekend. Shortly thereafter he committed to the Horns. He's been in the country for two years. Originally, he's from Colombia.

"We he got here he couldn't speak any English," Dotson said. "He's a great kid. He's really interested in doing well."

Colombia, huh? Don't be surprised when the Longhorns make a play for junior power forward Juan Tella Palacios, another Colombian who plays high school ball at Our Savior.

But for now, UT is probably ecstatic to get a point guard who's big, strong and tough. "That's right down Rick's alley," Dotson said.

-- Dave Telep, TheInsidersHoops.com

 

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