Atlanta (Westlake) GA beat Toronto (Henry Carr) ON, 64-68, and Middle Village (Christ the King) NY beat Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, 40-36, in the two Consolation Bracket Games earlier today on the third day of action in this year's Beach Ball Classic at the Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, SC.  And the big story in the first game was the great individual performance that was turned in by 6'8 Chuna Okeke from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, who finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds, three blocked shots, four blocked shots, 6-10 field goals, 1-1 3-pointers, and 8-11 free throws and impressed those in attendance with his length, athleticism, and versatility, which allows him to play both inside and outside.  We also think it is noteworthy to point out that 6'11 Soph Kofi Cockburn from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, 4-12 field goals, and 5-6 free throws, clearly won the battle in the paint against 7'1 Jason Cudd from Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, who is bound for the University of South Carolina and followed up last night's 25-point/15-rebound performance that also included 11-17 field goals with just nine points, three rebounds, and 3-5 field goals this time around.  And, while neither Cockbutn nor Cudd are even close to being ready for prime time, they do possess tremendous size and it is hard not to be intriguid with their upside and potential.

The third game of the day, which also was the first quarterfinals game in the winner's bracket of the tournament, looked like it was going to blowout, as Los Angeles (Westchester) CA jumped to a 6-0 lead right off the bat.  However, 6'7 Isaiah Kelly from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA, who is really more of an undersized 4-man than a wing player, rose to the occasion with 10 points and 5-7 field goals in the first half and 6'8 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA, who had only four points and four rebounds prior to the intermission, finally woke up and finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, 7-14 field goals, 0-4 3-pointers, and 5-8 free throws.  And together they led Pace Academy to a 51-46 win, which allows them to advance into the semi-finals on Friday against either Georgetown (Scott County) KY or Evanston (Township) IL.  Forget about the fact that Carter has blue hair (it was orange last week) and all too often he brings the ball up the court and wants to play out on the perimeter.  His biggest problem is that he's just lazy and it will be interesting to see how he responds to the demands of a tough hardnosed coach like Mike Krzyzewski when he arrives next fall at Duke,   Kelly finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 7-14 field goals, but we're still not convinced that he's a top 100 junior nationally and we sdo not buy the hype about him being a good perimeter player.  The only player even worth mentioning for Westchester was 6'2 Darryn Everage, who finished with 24 points, 9-16 field goals, 5-8 3-pointers, and 5-8 3-pointers.  And, in addition to being able to both shoot and slash, Everage also has a good mid-major future and he was the guy providing the heart and energy necessary to give his team the advantage throughout most of the first half (Westchester led 24-23 at the intermission) and at least keep his team within striking distance down the stretch.

The second quarterfinals game between Evanston (Township) IL and Georgetown (Scott County) KY was too close to call until the the former took control of things late in the first half and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way en route to a 68-59 win in a game that actually was closer than the final score might indicate.  The best player in the game clearly was 6'6 Nojel Eastern from Evanston (Township) IL, who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots, 7-10 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 8-9 free throws and he has a good combination of size, strength, skills, athleticism, and versatility, although outside shooting is not his forte,  He also is better than where we have him currently ranked at #97 nationally in the senior class, is a tough match-up in transition and when he slashes to the basket, and is an excellent catch for Purdue University.  We also think 6'6 Elyjah Williams from Evanston (Township) IL, who finished 12 points, seven rebounds, and 6-10 field goals, would be a good catch for somebody at the mid-to-low Division level, thanks to his strength and toughness around the basket and aggressiveness on the boards.  The best player for Scott County was 6'7 Soph Michael Moreno and what impressed us the most about this long athletic combo forward was his soft touch both inside and outside, as he finished with 22 points, six rebounds, 10-21 field goals, and 2-5 free throws.  We also think 6'2 Soph Bryce Long from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, who finished with 11 points, three steals, 3-10 field goals, 1-5 3-pointers, and 4-4 free throws, has chance to evolve into a really good player.  However,  the outside shot was not falling for this normally sharpshooting 2-guard this time around and, as he wenr, so did the Scott County team into the 5th Place Semi-Finals.

The third quarterfinals game of the day was a major surprise, as Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL jumped out to a 14-3 lead early, led by many as 19 points late in the first half, and, despite an 8-2 run late in the final two minutes of the first half and a 7-3 run at the beginning of the second half by Arlington Bishop O'Connell) VA, coasted to an impressive 53-41 victory in a game that was not as close as the final score might indicate. The guy who led the way was 6'6 Jordan Wright from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, who finished with 22 points, five rebounds, five steals, 8-12 field goals, 2-4 3-pointers, and 4-6 free throws.  However, don't let those two treys fool you.  This strong physical athletic University of Kentucky-bound defensive end is a tough hardnosed competitor and a force to be reckoned with around the basket.  He also is a great sleeper for our top 100 senior nationally, plus he is suddenly the leading candidate for tournament Most Valuable Player honors after putting up another impressive stat line yesterday that included 27 points eight rebounds, and 11-18 field goals.  Also chipping in with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists was 6'8 Raiquan Gray from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL.  However, Gray also was only 3-9 from the field, 1-4 from behind the arc, and 4-5 from the foul line and this was not one of his better efforts.  The only player to score in double-digit for Bishop O'Connell was 6'5 Matt Lewis.  However, this athletic wing has trouble finishing against Dillard's plethora of size around the basket and the outside shot wasn't dropping, as he finished with 13 points, six rebounds, 2-9 field goals, 1-5 3-pointers, and 8-13 free throws.

The final quarterfinals game of the day was a hard fought battle where neither Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA nor Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV could get a decisive advantage until the former went on an 13-2 run midway through the second half and coasted from there to a hard fought 72-54 victory.  And the big secret to Imhotep Charter's success was the great guard play that it received from 5'11 Daron Russell from Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA, who finished with 25 points, four assists, five steals, 10-18 field goals, 3-8 3-pointers, and 2-4 free throws and seems to have a special knack for being able to drive into the lane and either find the open man or finish against the trees inside, plus he can be a total pest at the defensive end.  Also picking up where he left off last night was 6'3 David Beatty from Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA, who finished with 17 points, six rebounds, 2 assists, 6-9 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 5-8 free throws and made a living using his excellent athleticism, great body control, and excellent moves when slashing to the basket.  Leading the way for Bishop Gorman was 6'6 Jamal Bey, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three steals, 6-11 field goals, 2-4 3-pointers, and 4-7 free throws and impressed us with his speed, quickness, and athleticism and ability to score in a variety of ways.  Also chpping in with 13 points, three steals, 5-13 field goals, and 1-5 3-pointers was 6'6 Charles O'Bannon from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV.

We arrived at Broughton High School in Raleigh, NC just in time to see the conclusion of the first game of the day on the third day of action at the 2016 John Wall Holiday Invitational Tournament and the player primarily responsible for Raleigh (Broughton) NC knocking off Durham (Southern Durham) NC, 54-51, was 6'2 Frosh Carson McCorkle.  Not only did he finish with 20 points, 5-14 field goals, and 3-8 3-pointers, but he also has deceptive athleticism, can play multiple positions, knows how to compete, can both shoot and slash, has savvy well beyond his age, and is good enough to already be attracting some big time interest from schools like N.C. State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa.  Southern Durham was led by 6'1 Jr Antonio Daye, who finished with 16 points, six assists, two steals, and 5-12 field goals and this athletic point guard has the ball handling and passing skills, knack for being able to run the show, and the ability to defend necessary to get recruited at the mid-major level a year from now.

The big key in the next game, which was the Consolation Bracket Championship Game in the David West Bracket, was the outside shooting of 6'5 Jonathan Mebane from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC and 6'0 Soph D.J. Horne from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, who combined for 35 points and knocked down 7-15 treys en route to a 58-45 win against Raleigh (Ravenscroft) NC.  The former is one of those guys who is like a jack-of-all-trades, thanks to his size, strength, athleticism, and ability to play multiple positions.  The latter will need to get bigger and stronger physically and he's more of a shooter and scorer than a facilitator and, as a result, he's going to need to continue to grow in order to get recruited very high on the Division I spectrum.  However, the best player in the game was 6'4 Ian Dubose from Raleigh (Ravenscroft) NC, who finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists, 10-23 field goals, and 2-8 3-pointers.  His forte is outside shooting, but he also has an excellent nose for the ball, rebounds well for his size, has good ball handing and passing skills, and gets more than his share of assists. And this effort comes right on the heels of his 29-point performance, which also included six 29 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, 9-22 field goals, 4-6 3-poitners, and 7-7 free throws, yesterday against Durham (Southern Durham) NC.

The third game of the day between Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL and Fayetteville (Northwood Temple) NC was a Consolation Round Semi-Finals Game in the T.J. Warren Bracket and watching 6'10 Soph Vernon Carey from Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL go strong to the basket and bring the house down with one strong finish after another clearly was one of the highlights of the entire day.  He's also got good skills, an excellent frame, is very active around the basket, knows how to compete, runs the court extremely well, has a tremendous pedigree (his Dad was an offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins) and is good enough to be ranked right behind 6'7 Soph R.J. Barrett from Montverde (Academy) FL and ahead of guys like 6'11 Soph Charles Bassey from San Antonio (St. Anthony) TX, 6'8 Soph Chandler Lawson from Memphis (East) TN, 7'1 Soph Chol Marial from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'3 Soph Scottie Lewis from Tinton Falls (Ramney) NJ, 6'9 Soph Okyeka Okongwu from Chino Hills (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Soph Cassius Stanley from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'8 Soph A.J. Lawson from Brampton (GTA Preparatory School) ON, 5'11 Soph Tyger Campbell from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'5 Soph Bryan Antoine from Tinton Falls (Ramney) NJ, and 6'9 Soph Patrick McCaffery from Iowa City (West) IA when we start talking about the top players in the great Class of 2019.

Carey finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 12-15 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 6-12 free throws and 7'1 Soph Balsa Koprivica from Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL chipped in with nine points, three rebounds, three blocked shots, and 4-10 field goals.  However, Koprivica is still more of a potential guy than a finished product right now, as we're talking about somebody who does need to get bigger and stronger physically, shies away from physical contract, and is not a tough  customer on the hoards. On the other hand, he does have incredible length, excellent skills, and the ability to run the court extremely well, plus he is very active on the post and is a lot more fluid, mobile, and coordinated than he used to be.  Needless to say, it came as no surprise that University School won this game 68-60, but we did think Northwood Temple had three players - 6'3 Mike Huiett, 6'6 Soph Aubliess Toney, and 6'11 Jr Manny Bates - that need to mentioned.  Huiett has a tendency to take some bad shot and be wild at times, but he did finish with 18 points, 5-13 field goals, and 3-8 3-pointers and has the talent, athleticism, and marksmanship from behind the arc necessary to be ranked #65 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And this is important, because Huiett is a major steal for Old Dominion University.  Toney is a strong physical athletic wing forward who makes a living slashing to the basket and, if he develops more of an outside shooter's mentality, could have a big time future.  Bates has excellent size and good athleticism in the post and he more than held his own with nine points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots, and 4-7 field goals while matched up inside against the likes of Carey and Koprovica.

The other Consolation Round Semi-Finals Game in the T.J. Warren Bracket between Carey (H.S.) NC and Thornhill (Thornlea) ON was anti climatic when compared to the previous one.  However, Cary did manage to go on a 28-18 run in the fourth quarter and the two uys who came up big at crunch time in their 71-66 were 6'3 Kyle Gensler from Cary (H.S) NC, who finished with 20 points, 6-9 field goals and 3-5 3-pointers, including the shot the tied the game at 56-56 with 5'14 remaining in the game, and 6'3 Soph Jeff Fortuny from Cary (H.S.) NC, who finished with 17 points, four assists, four steals, 6-15 field goals, and 5-9 3-pointers, including the shot that put his team ahead for good at 59-56 with 4:29 left in the game.  Fortuny does need to get bigger and stronger physically, but he still is an intriguing prospect due to the fact that he will have two more years of high school remaining after this season and has deceptive athleticism, excellent ball handling and passing skills, and is a pure shooter who is not afraid to take big shots.  Gensler's lack of strength and skinny frame makes him more ideally suited for the Division I level, but he showed that he has ice in his veins when he made four clutch free throws to ice the game.  The only other player we want to mention in this game is 6'1 Jr Jonathan Kitence from Thornhill (Thornlea) ON and this strong slashing athletic combo finished with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, 6-10 field goals, and 4-5 free throws.

The next game was the 3rd Place Game in the David West Bracket and this was especially important for our purposes, because we have not seen 6'6 Soph Wendall Moore from Concord (Cox Mill) NC in a long time and we wanted to see if he belonged on the aforementioned list of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2019.  On the plus side, Moore has improved his ball handling and passing skills, has the speed, quickness,and athleticism necessary to defend smaller guys on the perimeter, and is match-up problem with his size and strength when he attacks the basket and crashes the boards.  On the negative side, Moore was only 1-7 from behind the arc in his previous two games in this tournament and this time around he didn't even look to take an outside shot, as he finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, four turnovers, two steals, 5-10 field goals, 0-0 3-pointers, and 7-14 free throws, and his team went down in flames, 70-59, against Raleigh (Millbrook) NC.  So the answer to the above question is obviously no, as the value of his stock actually is dropping, as Moore belongs somewhere in the 20-30 range nationally in the sophomore class.  On the other hand, we were impressed with the outside shooting of 6'5 Patrick Dorsey form Raleigh (Millbrook) NC, who finished with 23 points five rebounds, four steals, 7-16 field goals, and 7-15 3-pointers and has the size at the 2-guard position necessary to be a nice catch for somebody at the mid-to-low Division I level.  And providing the perfect complement to Dorsey at the point guard spot was 6'1 Jordan Whitfield from Raleigh (Millbrook) NC, who finished with only seven points and 2-11 field goals, but also had four assists and did a good job of using his speed and quickness in the open court and knows how to get his teammates involved and run the show.

The sixth game of the day was the first Semi-Finals game in the winner's bracket of the T.J. Warren Bracket and 6'8 Kevin Knox from Tampa (Catholic) FL, who finished with 27 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals, 9-18 field goals, 2-7 3-pointers, and 7-10 free throws, led his team to an impressive 96-75 win over Concord (Robinson) NC.  However, even more important for our purposes, Knox, who is currently ranked #43 nationally in the senior class and was a major bust last summer, picked up where he left off when we saw him almost two weeks ago when he had 30 points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots, six steals, 10-23 field goals, 3-10 3-pointers, and 7-10 free throws while matched up against 6'9 Jeremiah Tilmon from East St. Louis (H.S) IL in a Sunshine Series Game in the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL.  And, when one also remembers that Knox had 38 points, 17 rebounds, two blocked shots, two steals, 12-25 field goals, 4-11 3-pointers, 10-12 free throws two days ago against Cary (H.S.) NC, it now is blatantly obvious that this is a trend and that this incredibly talented athletic combo forward has taken his game to another level.  Not only is he playing now with more focus and with a higher level of confidence, but his outside shooting also has dramatically improved.  And providing the perfect complement to Knox once again was 5'11 Jr Tai Strickland from Tampa (Prep) FL, who finished with 23 points, four assists, 10-15 field goals, and 2-4 3-pointers.  Not only does Strickland have a great pedigree (his father is Rod Strickland), but he also has a good feel for the game, is versatile enough to play either guard spot, and does a little bit of everything for this team

The other guy in this game who is just oozing with athleticism and potential and made had a number of highlight reel like plays with his quickness in transition and explosiveness to the basket was 6'2 Lavar Batts from Concord (Robinson) NC, finished with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, 6-17 field goals, 1-4 3-pointers, and 9-11 free throws.  However, we also think that this Virginia-Commonwealth-bound combo guard might be too quick, fast, and explosive for his own good, as is evident by the fact that all too often he would beat everybody down the floor and then not finish the play.  He also will need to improve his outside shooting, but, we think that once he gets to the next level, he will end up being a lot better than where he currently have him ranked, which is #88 nationally in the senior class.  He also were impressed with size and take no prisoners approach that we saw out of 6'7 Jamal Roberts from Concord (Robinson) NC, who finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 10-18 field goals, and 4-6 free throws and is good enough to get a lot of mid-to-high major looks.

There also were a number of other storylines in the other Semi-Finals game in the winner's bracket of the T.J. Warren Bracket, as Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ withstood a run late in the third quarter and held on to beat Concord (Cannon) NC, 72-64. We start with 7'0 DeAndre Ayton from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ, who finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots, 12-17 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 3-3 free throws and is ranked #1 nationally in the senior class by most people in our business, but #2 by the HOOP SCOOP.  In all fairness, he did play harder, ran the court, blocked shots, rebounded, and had some spectacular finishes.  However, once again, we expected a lot more and, as a result, we think it is safe to say that if he was a stock now would be a good time to sell.  We also are wondering what happened to yesterday's flavor of the day, as this time around 6'6 Soph Josh Green from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ only had seven points and 3-7 field goals.  Instead, the player who impressed us the most for Hillcrest Academy was 6'6 Alfred Collins from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds, 5-9 field goals, and 5-6 free throws and is a strong athletic 4-man who runs the court, scores and the basket and off transition, and has good upper body strength and is active on the boards.  And this also was the best we've seen 6'1 Virshon Cotton from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy0 AZ play, as he did a good job running the show, knocking down outside shots, and providinf the spark that this team needed to get over the hump at crunch time en route to 16 points, seven assists, three steals, 6-13 field goals, and 4-9 3-points,

The best player for Cannon was 6'8 Jr Jarius Hamilton from Concord (Cannon) NC, as this powerful a athletic combo forward finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, 6-14 field goals, 2-6 3-pointers, and 4-5 free throws.  We're talking about somebody who is ranked #31 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a force to be reckoned with his powerful moves to the basket and rim rattling dunks   He also has a strong upper body, plays with a lot of energy, runs the court, showed a nice touch on his jump shot, and has good ball handling and passing skills for somebody his size.  However, the leading scorer for this team was 6'5 Jr Qon Murphy from Concord (Cannon) NC, who finished with 23 points, five rebounds, 7-17 field goals, 1-4 3-pionters and 8-11 free throws.  We're talking about a multi-dimensional athletic wing with a huge amount of upside, if he gains some confidence in his outside shooting and develops a tougher demeanor.

We are back in Myrtle Beach, SC for the second to the last day of action at this year's Beach Ball Classic and earlier today Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY beat Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, 49-46, and Los Angeles (Westchester) CA beat Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 54-53.

We pick things up with the second 5th Place Quarterfinals Game between Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, which was a 10-point game throughout most of the first half and a tough hard fought battle down the stretch, as 6'6 Charles O'Bannon from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV finally woke up and started knocking down long range jumper.  We're talking about somebody who had only six points in the first half and was only 1-12 from behind the arc his previous two-and-a-half games in the tournament.  But when the dust had finally cleared, O'Bannon had 37 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, 13-22 field goals 6-12 3-pointers, and 5-5 free throws, plus he scored 12 straight points for his team early in the second half and made a number of big shots, including a 10-footer to put his team up 51-49 at 9:14 mark and a big 3-pointer to put his team up 56-55 with 6:49 remaining in the game.

However, O'Bannon was never quite able to get his team over the hump and 6'5 Matt Lewis from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA was the guy who took over the game when he hit three straight baskets with just over four minutes remaining, which put his team up for good and allowed Bishop O'Connell to go on and pull out an impressive 74-69 win over Bishop Gorman.  Speaking of Lewis, this athletic 2-guard has good size for his position, can do a little bit of everything, is equally adept when it comes time to shoot or slash, and is an absolute steal for James Madison University.  He also has been O'Connell's best player thus far in this tournament and in this game he led the way with 26 points, five rebounds, two assists, four turnovers, 11-17 field goals, 2-5 3-pointers, and 2-6 free throws this time around.  Also chipping in with 16 points, six rebounds, 7-8 field goals for Bishop O'Connell was Providence-bound 6'10 Nate Watson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA and 6'1 Jr Xavier Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA added 12 points, five assists, 5-7 field goals, 0-1 3-pointers, and 2-2 free throws.

The next game, which was a Consolation Bracket Semi-Finals Game between Jacksonville (Providence) FL and Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, was a 66-43 blowout, as 6'1 Kyle Marion from Jacksonville (Providence) FL and 6'1 Zachery Bryant from Jacksonville (Providence) FL combined for 36 points and were interchangeable in the backcourt with their speed, quickness, and athleticism and ability to put up impressive numbers.  Bryant finished with four assists, 8-15 field goals, 1-5 3-pointers, 1-1 free throws, but what he actually does best is score and he appears to be a good catch for the UAB.  Marion had two assists, 6-11 field goals, 3-6 3-pointers, and 3-3 free throws, he did a nice job of running the show, and he also must be an excellent student, because he had already verbal committed to the United States Navy Academy.  The only player worth mentioning for Jonesboro was 6'6 M.J. Walker, who finished with 29 points, 8-20 field goals, 5-14 3-pointers, and 8-9 free throws and is currently ranked #31 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which makes him the sixth highest ranked senior nationally still available behind, 6'11 Mohamad Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, 6'4 Trevon Duval from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'1 Trae Young from Norman (North) OK, 6'11 Brandon McCoy from San Diego (Cathedral Catholic) CA, and 6'7 Brian Bowen from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN.  However, we suspect that the value of stock is somewhat on the decline based on the fact that he is more of an explosive athlete and physical specimen that a polished basketball player.  He also has not player nearly as well as he did when he was such a dominant force on the first two days at the Culligan City of Palms Classic.

The other Consolation Bracket Semi-Finals Game went right down to the wire before 5'11 Tyson Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY hit a pair of free throws to put his team up by three and 6'0 Jose Alvardo from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY stole the in-bounds pass with nine seconds remaining to seal the deal, 52-49.  Alvarado also provides the glue that holds this team together and this tough hardnosed competitor who is bound for Georgia Tech finished with 11 points, four steals, 3-6 field goals, 2-5 3-pointers, and 3-4 free throws.  And Walker, who finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, 6-14 field goals, 0-5 3-pointers, and 2-2 free throws, provided a nice complement to Alvardo in the backcourt with his speed and quickness, nose for the ball, mid-range floater, and ability to score off transition and get to the basket.  We also continue to be intrigued with 6'11 Soph Kofi Cockburn from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who finished with 13 points, five rebounds, 3-6 3-pointers, and 7-8 free throws.  He also knows what he is and can he a powerful force when he attacks the rim and, with his combination of strength and size, definitely is a physical specimen around the basket.  The best players once again for Atlanta (Westlake) GA was 6'8 Chuma Okeke, who finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, 6-16 field goals, and 8-10 free throws, is ranked #93 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and signed with Auburn University during the Fall Signing Period.  He can put the ball on the floor and has some range on his jump shot, but he will have to tone up his body and show more of an outside shooter's mentality, if he is going to project as a three, instead of a 4-man at the next level.

The first of two Semi-Finals Games in the winner's bracket was really as two man show between 6'8 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA, who is ranked #9 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Duke University, and 6'5 Nojel Eastern from Evanston (Township) IL, who is ranked #97 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Purdue University.  And, in our not so humble opinion, that's too high for the former due to the fact that Carter has the combination of strength, power, and athleticism necessary to be a force to be reckoned with around the basket, but all too often is lazy, tends to play in spurts, and spends entirely too much time bringing the ball up the court and playing out on the perimeter.  And that's not high enough for the latter, as this strong physical multi-dimensional athletic wing handles the ball extremely well and is a good rebounder for his size and position, has a great feel for the game, takes what the defense gives him, and is a very unselfish teammate.  However, in this game we have to give Carter his just due, as he finally came to play and finished with 26 points, 21 rebounds, 11-15 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 4-7 free throws.  As for Eastern, he finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, 9-19 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 6'6 free throws and helped spark his team's 10-0 run late in the first half and early second half to take a 35-24.  And that was pretty much all she wrote for Evanston (Township) IL, which took the air out of the ball late in the game and coasted to an impressive 57-44 victory.

5'11 Daron Russell from Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA hit a pair of threes and scored on a contested lay-up to set the tone 8-4 early against Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL in the other Semi-Finals Games in the winner's bracket.  Then, Dillard had a six-point run, Imhotop Charter had a four-point run, and 6'8 Raiquan Gray from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL picked up his third foul with his team trailing 12-10 at the midway point through the fist half.  And ultimately that turned out to be one of the turning points in the game, as Gray did not reappear until there was about two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half.  \and by that time Imhotep Charter has gone on a 19-10 run.  By half-time it was 43-26 and Russell was making a strong case for tournament MVP honors with a stellar performance that included 17 points, five steals, 6-10 field goals, 4-6 3-pointers, and 1-2 free throws.  Also chipping in with 12 points, 5-9 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 2-2 free throws was 6'3 David Beatty from Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA.  Also picking up where he left off two days ago was 6'6 Jordan Wright from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, as accounted for 20 of his team's 26 points in the first half and was 7-8 from the field and 6-7 from the foul line.  It also comes as no surprise that Gray failed to score and was 0-2 from the field and had five turnovers.  And it got worse in the second half, as Imhotep Charter went on a 6-1 to start the half and coasted from there to an impressive 80-52 victory.  Russell led the way for Imhotep Charter with 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, 9-17 field goals, 4-7 3-pointers, and 1-3 free throws and Beatty chipped in with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, 6-12 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and 6-6 free throws.  It also comes as no surprise that Wright finished with 31 points, nine rebounds, 11-16 field goals, and 9-13 free throws,  and Gray chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds, and 4-11 field goals.

This sets up tomorrow night's Championship Game between Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA and Evanston (Township) IL at 7:30 PM.  And earlier in the day it will be Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL versus Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA in the Third Place Game at 5:30 PM, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA versus Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA in the Fifth Place Game at 3:30 PM, Jacksonville (Providence) FL versus Middle Village (Christ the King) NY in the Consolation Bracket Championship Game at 1;45 PM, and Toronto (Henry Carr) ON versus Myrtle Beach (Socastee) FL in a meaningless game at Noon.

Blowouts were the order of the day, as Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN knocked off East St. Louis (H.S.) MO, 87-63, and Montverde (Academy) FL coasted to an easy 76-36 win against Bartlett (H.S.) TN on the first day of action in the Penny Hardaway Hoopfest at Bartlett High School in Bartlett, TN. It also came as no surprise that the best player and leading scorer for Montverde (Academy) FL was 6'7 Soph R.J. Barrett, who finished with 20 points, 8-14 field goals, and 4-5 free throws and is the #1-ranked player nationally in the Class of 2019 by the HOOP SCOOP.  Nobody for Bartlett finished in double-digits and/or is worth mentioning.  However, Montverde Academy head coach Kevin Boyle did make things interesting late in the third quarter when he received a technical foul and then the subs went on a 23-6 run in the fourth quarter to make it a total wipeout.

East St. Louis High School didn't have the guards necessary to offset 6'5 Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN, who is ranked #44 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Virginia Tech, and 6'5 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN,  who is ranked #57 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for the University of Kentucky, in the earlier game.  Gilgeous-Alexander was the leading scorer with 30 points, four rebounds, five assists, and 13-17 field goals, 2-4 3-pointers, and 2-3 free throws and what he does best is slash to the basket, plus he has better ball handling and passing skills than Alexander-Walker does.  However, Alexander-Walker, who chipped in with 22 points, 7-14 field goals, 5-10 3-pointers, and 3-3 free throws, is actually the better player and he has a silky smooth demeanor, good size for his position, and is very adept at getting his shot, which makes him a great catch for the Hokies.  And providing the perfect complement out on the perimeter to Alexander-Walker and Gilgeous-Alexander was 6'5 Therren Shelton-Szmidt from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN, who finished with 11 points, five assists, 5-11 field goals, and 1-5 3-pointers and is good enough to be ranked in the Top 150-range nationally in the Class of 2017.   Not only does he have good length, athleticism, and size for his position, but he normally shoots it better than he did is this game and, as a result, is exactly what the doctor ordered for Middle Tennessee, State.  And one to keep an eye on in the future is 6'9 Soph Mahamadou Diawara from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN, who chipped in with six points, nine rebounds, 2-2 field goals, and 2-4 free throws.  He will need to get bigger and stronger physically and is still very raw offensively, but it's hard not to like how active he is around the basket, plus he gets more than his share of rebounds.

The best player for East St. Louis Lincoln was 6'11 Jeremiah Tilmon, who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, 8-12 field goals, and 1-4 free throws and, unlike so many of the top big men nationally in the Class of 2017, he actually knows what he is and doesn't attempt to do too much out on the perimeter.  Tilmon also has a great combination of size, strength, and athleticism, which makes him good enough to get serious consideration for the McDonald's All-American Game and a great catch for the University of Illinois.  And providing the perfect complement around the basket to Tilmon was 6'6 Soph Terrence Hargrove from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, who finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 9-15 field goals, and 1-3 free throws.  We talking about a somebody with the versatility and athleticism necessary to play either forward spot, but what he does best is attack the basket, dunk, and get after it on the boards.

We pick things up with the second game earlier today at the Penny Hardaway Hoopfest, which is being held today at Arlington High School in Arlington, TN, with the game between Germantown (Houston) TN and Bel Aire (Sunrise Christian) KS.  Andthanks to the efforts of 6'6 Jr Ryan Boyce from Germantown (Houston) TN, who scored his team's first six points, had 14 of his team's 21 points at the intermission, and finished with 20 points, 5-15 field goals, and 2-6 3-pointers, this game too close to call early and was still an eight-point game at the end of the third quarter.  We're talking about somebody with a silky smooth demeanor, good length and athleticism, and the talent and skills necessary to be a top five-ranked junior in the Volunteer State by Andre Whitehead of TNPrepHoops.com.  He will need to get bigger and stronger physically, but he also has a knack for being able to get his shot and can score in a variety of ways.

However, in the final analysis, Boyce did not have the supporting cast necessary to be able to hang with Sunrise Christian, which won the game 68-51 and featured 6'9 Isiah Jasey and 6'6 Soph Malik Hall, both of whom are good enough to ranked among the top 100 players nationally in their respective classes.  Jasey has great hands, excellent length, and good athleticism and this Texas A&M-bound 4-man did most of his damage around the basket en route to 13 points, 14 rebounds, 5-5 field goals, and 3-4 free throws.  Hall was his team's leading scorer with 20 points and, thanks to his quickness and athleticism and the soft touch on his jump shot, he has the ability to both shot and slash.  He also is an excellent defender, has the versatility necessary to play both inside and outside, and the sky is the limit if he continues to grow (he's grown four inches in the last two years).

The big story in the next game was the lights out 3-poiint shooting performance that was turned by 6'0 Jr Quinton Williams from Memphis (Southwind) TN.  Not only did he knock down 5-5 treys en route to 20 points, but he also led his current team to an easy 76-50 win over his former team (Williams transferred from Lausanne to Southwind this past summer).  However, before anybody gets too excited about Williams' recruitment, it is important to make note of the fact that he's more of a shooter than a facilitator and 6'0 2-guard prospects are a dime a dozen at the Division I level.

The next game was too close to call until Chicago (Simeon) IL outscored Cordova (H.S.) TN, 21-9 in the third quarter and coasted on from there to an impressive 80-61 victory in what was arguably was the best game that we've seen thus far in this year's event.  And the big secret to Simeon's success was the play of 5'10 Evan Gilyard from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who is a tough hardnosed point guard out of the mold as 5'11 Daron Russell from Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA.  If you will recall, Russell led his team a week ago to the Championship of the Beach Ball Classic, where he took home MVP tournament honors.  And, despite his lack of size and national notoriety, he made a very strong case for a top 100 nationally ranking and is an absolute steal for the University of Rhode Island.  And, just like Russell, this undersized point guard has excellent speed and quickness, a great nose for the ball, tremendous moves to the basket, the ability to knock down the outside shot, a knack for finding the open man, and the tough hardnosed demeanor necessary to be a great defender.  However, what really makes him special is the fact that he has the heart of a lion and his willingness to take totally take over the game and dominate from start to finish.

Not only did Gilyard convince us that he's major steal for UTEP and possibly a top 100 senior nationally, but he also nailed three straight treys to set the tone early, had 20 points at the intermission, and finished with 32 points, six rebounds, three assists, 7-13 field goals, 3-4 3-pointers, and 15-20 free throws in what clearly was the best individual performance thus far in the event.  Also chipping in with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, 8-12 field goals, and 2-4 3-pointers was 6'2 Jr Marquise Brown from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who is a tough hardnosed athletic combo guard in his own right and one of the forgotten guys in the junior class nationally after missing his sophomore season due to injuries.  We also thought 5'10 Blake Williams from Cordova (H.S.) TN, who is one of the better point guards in the state's senior class helped himself with a 23-point performance that also included 9-15 field goals, 2-4 3-pointers, and 3-6 free throws.  Williams has always been able to run the show, but Andre Whitehead of TNPrepHoops.com also was impressed with his increased offensive output and thinks he's prime junior college material.

The next game also went pretty much true to form, as Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN jumped out to a 24-6 lead early and never looked back en route to an easy 67-49 win against Arlington (H.S.) TN..  And in a lot of ways this was a rerun of their game yesterday, as 6'5 Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN, 6'5 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN, and 6'5 Therren Shelton-Szmidt from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights) TN combined to score 42 of their team's 69 points.  However, this time Alexander-Walker was the leading scorer, as this Virginia Tech-bound athletic 2-guard finished with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, 7-9 field goals, 2-3 3-pointers, and 2-3 free throws. The University of Kentucky-bound Gilgeous-Alexander chipped in with 11 points, four rebounds, nine assists, 5-6 field goals, and 1-1 3-pointers and, once again, the outside shot wasn't falling for the normally good 3-point shooting Middle Tennessee State-bound Shelton-Szmidt, who this time around had 13 points, 6-13 field goals, and 1-6 3-pointers. Arlington did not have a Division I player, but 5'11 Soph Sam Wiseman deserves to be mention based on his 16 points and 4-7 3-point shooting.

The final game of the day was the much anticipated rematch between Montverde (Academy) FL and Memphis (East) TN, which met three weeks ago in the Championship Game of the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL.  And, despite a 7-0 run by Montverde (Academy) FL to make it 17-10 midway through the first quarter, it was really too close to call throughout the first half.  The score at the intermission was 39-38 and the big key for Montverde (Academy) FL was the fact that 6'7 Soph R.J. Barrett from Montverde (Academy) FL was more than living up to his press clippings with a number of spectacular dunks/finishes en route to 17 points, four rebounds, 7-11 field goals, 0-1 3-pointers, and 3-3 free throws.  In contrast, the Memphis East attack was much more balanced, as 6'4 Jr T.J. Moss, 6'8 Soph Malcolm Dandridge, 6'7 Soph Antavion Collum, 5'11 Jr Alex Lomax. 6'8 Soph Chandler Lawson, and 6'4 Radarious Washington were all playing key roles and had seven, seven, six, five, four, and four points apiece respectively.

It was more of the same, as it was still a two-point game at the end of the Third Quarter and Memphis East maintained a small lead throughout much of the fourth quarter.  We pick things up when they cleared it out for Barrett and he drive right down the middle to tie the score with 14 seconds left in the game  And then Lomax made another sensational pass to Lawson, who slammed homr the game wining basket in the final seconds to make the final score, 75-73.  Moss was the leading scorer with 16 points, 5-13 field goals, and 3-6 3-pointers.  Lawson added 14 points, but one of the big keys to Memphis East's victory is the fact that Collum and Dandridge, who chipped in with 11 and 10 points apiece, have both dramatically improved in the last three weeks and they both are much more aggressive around the basket and they both made a number of big plays down the stretch.  Barrett led the way for Montverde Academy with 32 points, six rebounds, three assists, 14-21 field goals, 1-3 3-pointers, and 3-3 free throws.

One of the many things that separates the HOOP SCOOP from everybody else in the business is our unique ability to look at things and analyze them in a variety of ways.  And especially interesting is the fact that 39 of the 100 players listed on our just published 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams, which includes the top 100-ranked players nationally regardless of class and position, do not attend a private school, a Catholic School, or a basketball factory.  However, when we look at only the top 25-ranked players and the top 50-ranked players on this list, we find that six players, which is only 24%, fall into the first category, and 16 players, which is 32%, fall into the second category.  At first glance this leads us to believe that the better the player the more likely he is to transfer or enroll in another school in an attempt to pursue his basketball career.  And this theory is reinforced even further when we look at this same list from a year ago and find that only three of the top 25 players, which is just 12%; 10 of the top 50 players, which is just 20%; and 26 of the top 100 players, which is 26%, fall into this category.  So naturally we are little surprised by the fact that 39% of the players on our current list attend public schools when compared to a year ago to when that number was just over one-in-four of the top 100-ranked players.

We also think it is interesting to point out that our 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams includes four 5th Year Players, which by definition is somebody in their ninth semester or more of high school, 56 seniors, 25 juniors, 14 sophomores, and one 8th Grader.  However, it does not include 6'6 Hamidou Diallo from Putnam (Science) CT, who previously was our #1-ranked 5th Year Player, is good enough to be a top 10-ranked high school senior, and plans to enter the NBA Draft next spring after spending the rest of the current season at the University of Kentucky, and 6'10 Austin Wiley from Spain Park (Hoover) AL, who is a legit top 15-ranked senior nationally, but graduated from high school back in December and now appears to be exactly what the doctored to anchor the front line at Auburn University.  Diallo also is good enough to be included on the Second Team ahead of 6'7 Jr Zion Williamson from Spartanburg (Day) SC and Wiley would be included on the Fourth Team, along with players like 6'5 Gary Trent from Napa (Prolific Prep) CA, 6'7 P.J. Washington from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, and 6'9 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA.

This also a good place to make note of the fact that players are bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic, but they also are not as skilled and do not have the toughness and competitive edge that comes from learning how to play the game while playing on concrete in an outdoor highly competitive playground-like environment.  And, to make matters even worse, it also seems like all of the perimeter players want to be point guards and guys like 7'0 DeAndre Ayton from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ, 6'11 Mohamed Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, 6'10 Billy Preston from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'9 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA are the poster boys when we start talking about big men who lack a takeover mentality and/or want to spend entirely too much time handling the ball in transition, playing away from the basket, and knocking down jump shots.  On the other hand, the above mentioned players seem to be can get away with it right now, because they do have the size, athleticism, and potential necessary to achieve greatness and on their best day they clearly have to be ranked among best players in the Class of 2017.

However, these guys also should beware of the fact that the Class of 2019 is loaded and it promises to be best class to come down the pike in a long time, as is evident by the fact that 6'7 Soph R.J. Barrett from Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'10 Soph Vernon Carey from Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL, 6'10 Soph Charles Bassey from San Antonio (St. Anthony Catholic) TX, 6'8 Soph Tristan Watford from Mountain Brook (H.S.) AL, 6'8 Soph Chandler Lawson from Memphis ((East) TN, 6'9 Soph Onyeka Okongwu from Chino Hills (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Soph Scottie Lewis from Triton Falls (Ranney) NJ, 7'1 Soph Chol Marial from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'4 Soph Cassius Stanley from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 5'11 Soph Tyger Campbell from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'9 Soph Patrick McCaffery from Iowa City (West) IA, 6'1 Soph Cole Anthony from Briarwood (Christ the King) NY, 6'4 Soph Bryan Antoine from Triton Falls (Ranney) NJ, and 6'3 Soph P.J. Fuller from Seattle (Nathan Hall) WA are all good enough right now to be included among the top 100 players nationally regardless of class and position and it's only a matter of time before many of them surpass most of the spoiled, pampered, and overhyped players in both of the Class of 2017 and Class of 2018.

Two guys that we don't look for anybody to surpass are 6'9 Michael Porter from Seattle (Nathan Hale) WA, who gets our nod as the #1-ranked player nationally in the Class of 2017 based on the fact that he's capable of putting up prolific numbers, is very adept at scoring in a variety of ways, and has developed much more of a takeover mentality on the boards in the last year, 6'10 Jr Marvin Bagley from Chatsworth (Sierra Canyon) CA, who is head-and-shoulders above everybody else in the Class of 2018 and has the size, athleticism, skills, and all of the intangibles necessary to be as good as he wants to be.  Another guy who deserves special mention and already has surpassed all of the players in the class ahead of him is 5'11 8th Grader Zion Harmon from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY.  Not only has been putting up prolific numbers and is already as good as anybody in the state right now, but he also finished ranked #23 in scoring with 17.0 ppg and #11 in assists with 4.4 apg last spring in the NIKE EYBL and he appears to be equally adept at playing either guard spot.

It also comes as no surprise that the state with the most players included among our 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams is California with 11 players on the aforementioned list.  However, you probably will be surprised that Florida is a strong second with 10 players, followed by Pennsylvania with seven; Indiana, Georgia, and New Jersey with six apiece; Texas with five; Illinois, Texas, Virginia, and Washington with four apiece; Nevada and Washington, DC with three apiece; Arizona, Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina, and Wisconsin with two apiece; and Arkansas, Connecticut, North Carolina, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Vermont with only one apiece.  We also think it is noteworthy to point out that 45 players on this list are still available.  However, the vast majority of those players are underclassmen, as a quick look at our list shows that 6'11 Mohamed Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, 6'3 Trevon Duval from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'1 Trae Young from Norman (North) OK, 6'8 Kevin Knox from Tampa (Catholic) FL, 6'7 Brian Bowen from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'1 Matt Coleman from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 M.J. Walker from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, and 6'7 Jordan Tucker from Marietta (Wheeler) GA are the only seniors still left on the board.  In contrast, the only underclassmen included among our 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams that have made an early verbal commitment to a four-year college or university are 6'6 Jr Joseph Wieskamp from Muscatine (H.S.) IA to the University of Iowa, 6'8 Jr Carte'Are Gordon from Webster Groves (H.S.) MO to Saint Louis, and 6'4 Jr Tyler Hero from Greenfield (Whitnall) WI to the University of Wisconsin.

Roselle (Catholic) NJ beat Hartford (Weaver) CT, 96-76, in the first game of the day on the third of action at this year's Spalding Hoop Hall Classic, which is being held at Blake Arena in Springfield, MA and is always one of the highlights of the entire winter.  And the big story here was the impressive performance turned in by 6'11 Jr Nazeron Reid from Roselle (Catholic) NJ, as he finished with a triple-double that included 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.  He also had five blocked shots, three steals, and 7-14 field goals and this is important, because it could be an important turning point in his career.  If you will recall, Reid has a long history of disappearing in big games, being a classic underachiever, not having a takeover mentality, and spending too much time negating his size, strength, and athleticism by playing out on the perimeter.  In other words, he checks in on the Sixteenth Team on our recently published HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams based more on potential than what he's actually accomplished thus far in career.  However, maybe the light has now clicked on and it will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend, instead of an aberration.

We move onto the second game of the day, where 6'1 Jr Jahvon Quinerly and 6'4 Jr Luther Muhammad combined for 49 points and 16-27 field goals, as they led Jersey City (Hudson Catholic) NJ to 62-53 victory over San Antonio (St. Anthony Catholic) TX.  Quinerly also finished with five rebounds, four assists, two turnovers, and two steals and he pretty much picked up where he left off when we saw him a month ago in Culligan City of Palms Classic with his ability to make those around him better, explosiveness in transition, great moves to the basket, and good old-fashioned Jersey toughness.  And to make the story even more interesting is the fact that Quinerly is now making strong case for being the best pure point guard prospect in the Class of 2018 and a top recruiting priority for the University of Arizona, as is evident by the fact the Wildcats assistant coaches Mark Phelps and Emanuel Richardson were both highly visible sitting right behind the basket during the entire gamer.

Muhammad also knocked down 2-4 3-pointers and, when the outside shot is going down, the athletic 2-guard is good enough to be ranked among the top 50 players nationally in the Class of 2018.  However, consistency is not his forte and he has a tendency to be a stock market player, which explains why he is ranked no higher than #100 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  On the other hand, 6'8 Jr Louis King from Jersey City (Hudson Catholic) NJ was a major disappointment, as this long athletic combo forward finished with only four points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots, and two steals.  But maybe being matched up inside against 6'11 Soph Charles Bassey from St. Antonio (St. Anthony Catholic) TX had something to do with it, as our #3-ranked sophomore nationally finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots, four steals, and 7-11 field goals.  However, even more important, this was a tough match-up for King, because Bassey's game is more finesse than power, he has the skills and versatility necessary to play both inside and outside, and, although their games are similar, Bassey is a much better player.

The third game of the day was a good old-fashioned shootout between 5'9 Tremont Waters from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA  and 6'2 Soph Cole Anthony from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY.  And the big difference in the game was the outside shooting, as the prolific scoring Georgetown-bound Waters was hot from behind arc en route to 29 points, 10-18 field goals, 7-10 3-pointers, seven assists, and five steals and the guy who promises to be the next great point guard from New York City and has an amazing pedigree (his father is Greg Anthony) did most of his damage slashing to the basket en route to the basket en route 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and 9-17 field goals, but only 1-6 treys.  Waters and Anthony also both did an excellent job of running the show, getting their teammates involved, and not turning the ball over, as the former had a seven-to-one one turnover ratio and the latter had a five-to-one turnover ratio.  We also don't want to forget about 7'1 Jr Moses Brown from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, who had 12 points and seven rebounds and is extremely active and athletic around the basket.  We currently have him ranked #17 nationally in the junior class, but it appears that he's grown several inches since we saw him last and he's still like a deer learning how to run in terms of his offensive skills and post moves and, as a result, his upside is off the chart.

The next game was too close to call until Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD outscored Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 23-12, in the third quarter and coasted from there to a hard fought 73-66 victory in what might have been the best game of the entire day.  And leading the charge for DeMatha was the Notre Dame-bound 6'6 D.J. Harvey from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who finished with 28 points, 8-15 field goals, 2-4 3-pointers, and 12-14 free throws.  However, even more important, we suspect that today's performance will only enhance this versatile/athletic wing forward's chances of being named to play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game.  Remember, Harvey is currently ranked #25 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which would put him right on the bubble with regard to whether he gets the nod.  On the other hand, his game is on a major upswing after a subpar junior year and he does have the right politics on his side in light of the fact that Morgan Wootten, who is still the driving force behind the McDonald's All-American Game, was the head coach at DeMatha High School for 46 years.

Also chipping in with 16 points and 14 points apiece for DeMatha were 6'2 Ryan Allen and 6'10 Josh Carlton, who are bound for the University of Delaware and the University of Connecticut respectively.  Allen has a good combination of strength and athleticism, which he uses to attack the basket, plus he showed that he can knock down the outside shot with 2-5 treys and he is good enough to be ranked in the 100-200 range nationally.  Carlton has a good frame, is active in the post, and he knows what he is, which a true post player and somebody who could evolve into a good catch for the Huskies.  The leading scorer for Bishop Gorman was 6'6 Charles O'Bannon, who finished with 27 points, five steals, and 11-26 field goals.  And many of those missed shots came for behind the arc, as he picked up where he left off when we saw him a couple of weeks ago with his inability to get his outside to fall, (this time around he was only 1-8 from 3-point land).  However, 6'6 Jr Jamal Bey from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who finished with 17 points and had 3-7 treys and is ranked #135 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'2 Christian Popoola from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who had 10 points, 12 assists, and two steals and is bound for Brigham Young, also stepped up and played important roles, while at the same time enhancing the value of their stock.

The next game was the upset special of the day, as Cambridge (Rindge and Latin) MA opened up a six-point lead early in the third quarter and knocked off Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, 46-36.  And to make the story even more interesting, Rindge and Latin's best player was an undersized combo guard with a great feel for the game, a nice looking outside shot, and a low Division I or high Division II future due to his lack of size.  We're talking about 5'9 Kareem Octavien from Cambridge (Rindge and Latin) MA and he finished with 14 points, four assists, 5-10 field goals, and 4-6 3-pointers.  He was complemented by 6'8 Dimon Carrigan from Cambridge (Rindge and Latin) MA, who is very raw offensively, but does have a mid-major future and did impress us with his size, athleticism, and explosive around the basket en route to six points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots, and three steals.  We also thought 6'8 Ira Lee from Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, who finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, and 6-16 field goals, did a good job of setting picks and screens, getting after it on the boards, and being aggressive around the basket.  However, 6'10 Jr Shareef O'Neal from Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, who finished with five points, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots, sure has a long way to go offensively and, at #45 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is clearly one of the most overrated players in the Class of 2018.  On the other hand, his father (Shaquille O'Neal, who was sitting in the first row behind the basket) also was a late bloomer and it's hard to argue with the kid's size, athleticism, pedigree, and potential.

The final game of the evening, which featured 7'0 DeAndre Ayton from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ, who is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, against 7'0 Mohamed Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was too close to call until Westtown School opened up a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.  But then 6'6 Jr Cameron Reddish from West Chester (Westtown School) PA was whistled for his second foul and Ayton scored nine points in the next five minutes, as Hillcrest Academy went on a 15-0 run to make it the scored 25-17.  From there both teams traded baskets to make the score 30-24 at the intermission and Ayton was leading the way for Hillcrest Academy with 11 points, seven rebounds, and 5-9 field goals.  However, even more important, this was the best we've seen Ayton play this winter and he was clearly winning the battle of the two highly touted big men.  The leading scorer at the half with 10 points for Westtown School was 6'5 Brandon Randolph and, ironically, just like Ayton, he is bound for the University of Arizona.

Hillcrest Academy went up by nine points midway through the third quarter, but then Westtown School went on 13-4 run to take a five-point lead and make it 45-40 at the end of the third quarter.  And from there Westtown School went on to win 66-54 and Randolph led the way with 28 points, three rebounds, six assists, and three steals.  Reddish chipped in with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals and Bamba added nine points, 13 rebounds, and five blocked shots.  Ayton led Hillcrest Academy with 21 points and 10 rebounds and 6'7 Alfred Hollins from Phoenix (Hillcrest Acadmey) AZ chipped in with points points and 2-6 3-pointers.

6'7 Jimmy Boeheim from New Hampton (Prep) NH, who finished with 21 points, 8-11 field goals, and 2-5 3-pointers, led his team to a 89-62 win over Troy (Redemption Christian) NY and 6'2 Makai Ashton-Langford from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who finished with nine points, nine rebounds, 10 assists, and 4-6 field goals, led his team to a 70-67 win over Montverde Academy's Prep School Team in the first two games earlier today on the fourth day of action of this year's Spalding Hoop Hall Classic at Blake Arena in Springfield, MA.  Boeheim, who is the son of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, is a late blooming 5th Year Player and he has the size, skills, and outside shooting necessary to project as a mid-to-low major player or become a walk-on and become a good role for the Orangemen.  Langford already is verbally committed to the University of Connecticut and, as a result, it comes as no surprise that Huskies head coach Kevin Ollie and two of his assistant coaches were in the house to watch Ashton-Langford play.  We're talking about somebody with good speed and quickness, a great feel for the game, and the poise and court savvy necessary to be able to step in and make an immediate impact next year for the Huskies. He also has the talent necessary to be the #1-ranked player on our List of the Top 5th Year Players.

We pick things up in the third game of the day when 6'1 Jaheam Cornwall from Putnam (Science) CT, who knocked down a long three and drove in for a lay-up in the span of about 15 seconds with just over a minute left in the game, and 6'5 Jr Eric Ayala from Putnam (Science) CT, who went coast-to-coast for another lay-up in the final minute of the game and knocked down his first free throw with 9.3 seconds left in the game, both stepped up a crunch time and made the big plays necessary to get their team over the hump inn a 81-79 win against Saxton's River (Vermont Academy) VT.  However, both teams tried to give it away in the final seconds of the game, as Ayala missed his second free throw attempt and 6'8 Jordan Nwora from Saxton's River (Vermont Academy) VT missed a lay-up that would have been the game tying basket in the finals second of the game.  Nwora did finish with 17 points, 5-11 field goals, and 4-6 3-pointers, but he will need to get bigger and stronger physically and become a tougher customer if he's ever going to be more than a good role player and zone buster for Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville.

On the other hand, Nwora did provide a nice complement out on the perimeter to 6'10 Soph Simi Shittu from Saxton's River (Vermont Academy) VT, who is a legit top 10-ranked sophomore nationally and finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and 6-10 field goals, and Virginia Commonwealth-bound 6'7 Marcus Santos-Silva from Saxton's River (Vermont Academy) VT, who always does a lot the dirty work around the basket and had a big basket of his own in the final minute of the game en route to 11 points and three rebounds.  Ayala led the way for the winning team and he showed that he has the versatility and athleticism necessary to play multiple positions en route to 20 points, 7-16 field goals, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.  We also thought Cornwall and 6'10 Malik Ondigo from Putnam (Science) CT both of whom are 5th Year Players and are still available, enhanced the value of their stock. The former finished with 15 points, four assists, one turnover, and 6-10 field goals and this tough hardnosed New York City has excellent speed and quickness and he showed that he can both run a team and score in bunches.  Ondigo finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and 5-7 field goals and his size, athleticism, and soft touch on his hook shot should make him an intriguing prospect for schools at the high major level.

The next game went pretty much true to form, as 6'3 Trevon Duval from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL got the ball on the opening tap and went in for a slam dunk to make the score 2-0.  The next thing we knew it was 8-2 and IMG Academy, which featured a very balanced scoring attack with four players (Emmitt Williams had 14 points, Duval had 12 points, and Keyontae Johnson and Isaiah Stokes had 10 points apiece) scoring in double-digits, coasted on to a 61-51 win that was not as close as the final score might indicate.  On the other hand, the guy who really stole the show and made this game somewhat interesting was 6'7 Emmanuel Akot from West Mt. Pleasant (Wasatch Academy) UT, who is a consensus top 50-to100 range ranked junior nationally.  And, after watching this long athletic wing forward, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, 7-16 field goals, and 4-9 3-pointers and is match-up problem when he attacks the basket and also can beat you with his outside shooting, there is no doubt about the fact that he has to be one of the fastest rising players in the junior class nationally.  He also knows who to compete, has the versatility necessary to play multiple positions, appears to be top recruiting priority for schools like Arizona, Louisville, Utah, Oregon, and N.C. State, and will get serious consideration when the time comes a year from now when we've voting for the McDonald's All-American Game.

Greensboro (Day) NC jumped out to a 17-9 lead early and, although Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA led once by as many as eight points late in the third quarter, the next game went right down to the wire before Neumann-Goretti finally prevailed, 72-69.  It also comes as no surprise that the University of Kentucky-bound 6'1 Quade Green and the Villanova-bound 6'8 Dhimir Cosby-Roundtree and Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA combined for 47 of their team's points and more lived ip to their press clippings..  And the former also turned in one of the top individual performances of the entire day with 29 points, 10 assists, two turnovers, three steals, 8-15 field goals, 3-10 3-pointers, and 10-10 free throws, while the latter just missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds.  We also were extremely impressed with 6'7 J.P. Moorman from Greensboro (Day) NC, who finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, 11-17 field goals, and 3-4 3-pointers and is an absolute steal Temple University.

Not only does he know how to get compete, has a good combination of strength and athleticism, and is versatile enough to play both inside and outside, but he also is an excellent passer, has a good feel for the game, and obviously has become a much improved outside shooter.  And this is important, because, if Moorman plays like this all of the time, he's a great sleeper for the top 100 nationally when we publish our Final Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class fo 2017 next spring.  In sharp contrast, one has to wonder what has happened to 6'2 Jr Will Dillard from Greensboro (Day) NC, who finished with only two points and 1-3 field goals?  If you will recall, we're talking about somebody with has big time athleticism and was highly touted at a younger age.  On the other hand, Dillard's skill level and basketball IQ have not caught up with his speed and quickness and he was matched up against Quade Green, who is second to none in terms of having a competitive edge and being a top-notch defender.

Springfield (Commonwealth) MA head coach Tony Bergeron has been touting his current group of seniors dating all the way back to when they were freshmen in high school and now it looks like he knew what he was talking about after this team jumped out to a 10-0 lead early against Ashburnham (Cushing Academy) MA, was down only 24-21 at the intermission, and overcame an eight-point deficit midway through the second half to finally prevail, 61-56, in the final game that we're going to cover today.  And leading the way for Springfield Commonwealth were 6'7 Hashan French, who finished with 10 points, 17 rebounds, three blocked shots, and 3-8 field goals and is exactly what the doctor ordered for Saint Louis University due to his strength, blue collar work ethic, and ability to dominate defensively around the basket, and 6'1 Shyheim Hicks, who finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and 4-12 field goals, 2-8 3-pointers and, thanks to his good crossover dribble, excellent court vision, and soft touch on his jump shot, is an absolute steal for LIU-Brooklyn.

And making this feat even more impressive is the fact that 6'1 Wabissa Bede from Ashburnham (Cushing Academy) MA is one of those guys who is a fierce competitor and just refuses to let his team lose.  Bede does need to develop more of an outside shooter's mentality, but he has good ball handling and passing skills, does an excellent job of getting his teammates involved, and has the strength, athleticism, and upper body strength necessary to be a match-up problem when he attacks the basket.  Bede finished with eight points, 2-8 field goals, 1-3 3-pointers, and 2-8 free throws, but it was his 10 rebounds and seven assists that gets our attention and makes him such a great catch for Virginia Tech.

The most noteworthy thing that happened in the first game on the final day of action at this year's Spalding Hoop Hall Classic was the individual performance that was turned in by 6'7 John Petty from Huntsville (Jemison) AL, who finished with 18 points, 8-15 field goals, 2-7 3-pointers, 13 points, and 10 assists en route to a 58-52 win against Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  However, even more important, this long athletic sharpshooting University of Alabama wing forward played like he has something to prove, which obviously is the case when one takes into account that he is the highest ranked player by the HOOP SCOOP who did not make the prestigious McDonald's All-American Team, which was announced last night on ESPN and included 6'10 Michael Porter from Seattle (Nathan Hale) WA (Washington), 7'0 DeAndre Ayton from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ (Arizona), 6'11 Mohamed Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, 6'3 Trevon Duval from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'1 Quade Green from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA (Kentucky), 6'2 Trae Young from Norman (North) OK, 6'2 Collin Sexton from Mableton (Pebblebrook) GA (Alabama), 6'9 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA (Duke), 6'7 Brian Bowen from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'5 Gary Trent from Napa (Prolific Prep) CA (Duke), 6'10 Billy Preston from Lawrence (H.S.) KS (Kansas), 6'8 Kevin Knox from Tampa (Catholic) FL, 6'7 P.J. Washington from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV (Kentucky), 6'11 Nick Richards from Elizabeth (The Patrick School) NJ (Kentucky), 6'11 Mitchell Robinson from Chalmette (H.S.) LA (Western Kentucky), 6'11 Brandon McCoy from San Diego (Cathedral Catholic) CA, 6'3 Jaylen Hands from El Cajon (Foothills Christian) CA (UCLA), 6'4 Lonnie Walker from Reading (H.S.) PA (Miami-FL), 6'6 Charles O'Bannon from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV (USC), 6'8 Jarred Vanderbilt from Houston (Victory Prep) TX (Kentucky), 6'8 Kris Wilkes from Indianapolis (North Central) IN (UCLA), 6'5 M.J. Walker from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Troy Brown from Las Vegas (Centennial) NV (Oregon), 6'11 Jaren Jackson from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN (Michigan State).

The only other player in the first game that needs to be mentioned is 6'0 R.J. Cole from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  However, this tough hardnosed aggressive point guard did not have the necessary supporting cast and the shot wasn't falling, as he finished with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, 4-13 field goals, and 2-6 3-poinetrs.  On the other hand, he has good ball handing and passing skills, a high basketball IQ, and a takeover mentality and we still think he is good enough to be borderline top 100-ranked senior nationally, as well as an absolute steal for Kevin Nickleberry at Howard University.

We move onto the second game of the day, which was a total surprise, as 6'9 Wendell Carter, who was named to play in this year's McDonald's All-American Game, but has not lived up to the hype this winter, also was playing like he had something to prove and, as a result, Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA jumped out to a 8-2 lead early against Elizabeth (The Patrick School) NJ and then went on a 16-4 run to make the score 29-18 late in the second quarter.  However, the Patrick School had a 9-1 run of its own to start the third quarter and then hung on for dear life down the stretch en route to a tough hard fought 68-60 double overtime victory. And the guy who made several big shots that The Patrick School needed to tie the game midway through the third quarter and the provided the spark that his team needed to ultimately get over the hump at crunch time was point guard 5'9 Jordan Walker from Elizabeth (The Patrick School) NJ.  Not only did he finish with 15 points, two assists, four steals, 7-14 field goals, and 0-3 3-pointers, but he also is one of the better point prospects in the senior class nationally still available.  We're talking about somebody who is explosive in transition and has great body control, excellent moves to the basket, and a special knack for being able to dish off to the open man, which more often than not is 6'2 Jamir Harris from Elizabeth (St. Patrick School) NJ.  However, this was not one of this normally sharp shooting 2-guard's better days, as the University of Minnesota-bound Harris finished with15 points and was only 4-13 from behind the arc.  Also chipping in with 10 points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots was 6'11 Nick Richards from Elizabeth (The Patrick School) NJ, who is bound for the University of Kentucky and was the guy that Wildcats head coach John Calipari was in the house to watch play.

Getting back to Carter, this was the best and most inspired that we've seen this strong physical athletic Duke-bound 4-man play all season, as he finished with 28 points, 18 rebounds, two blocked shots, and three steals and also did a good job of getting Richards, 7'0 Buay Koka from Elizabeth (The Patrick School) NJ, and 6'10 Bul Ajang from Elizabeth (The Patrick School) NJ into foul trouble.  And, in the process, Carer knocked down 18-22 free throws, including two clutch free throws with less two minutes remaining in regulation that tied the game and two more with 1:15 remaining in the game that gave his team a two-point lead.  On the hand, Carter also was only 4-14 from the field and his 2-11 3-point shooting was a major detriment to his team down the stretch.

The next game was interesting because it matched up two of the top 10- ranked high school teams in the nation and featured two true multi-dimensional athletic 4-man in Michael Porter from Seattle (Nathan Hale) WA, who is bound for the University of Washington and is ranked #1 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'10 Billy Preston from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is bound for the University of Kansas and is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And, when the dust had cleared, Porter not only won the match-up and his team won the game, 80-77, but he also reinforced our belief that he is the best player in the senior class nationally with a performance that included 36 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, 14-25 field goals, 4-9 3-pointers, and 4-4 free throws.  He also deserves extra credit for running the court and creating opportunities for both himself and his teammates with hustle points, plus he did a good job defensively against Preston, who finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds, 7-21 field goals, 1-5 3-pointers, and 2-4 free throws.

Instead, the leading scorer for Oak Hill was 6'2 Lindell Wigginton, who finished with 22 points, three rebounds, three assists, 6-10 field goals, and 2-4 3-pointers, is versatile enough to play either guard spot, and has signed with Iowa State.  Also chipping in with 15 points apiece for Oak Hill were 6'4 Ty-Shon Alexander, who is bound for Creighton and did most of his damage from behind the arc with 3-6 3-pointers, and 6'2 Matt Coleman, who is the second best point guard prospect still available and impressed us with his ball handling and passing skills en route to four assists and two turnovers.  And providing the perfect inside/outside complement to Porter were 6'3 Soph P.J. Fuller from Seattle (Nathan Hale) WA, who finished with 17 points, 5-12 field goals, 3-8 3-pointers and impressed us with his explosiveness in transition, ability to finish at the rim, and soft touch from behind the arc, and his younger brother, 6'10 Jr Johntay Porter from Seattle (Nathan Hale) WA, who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots, and 5-13 field goals and also is bound for the University of Washington.

The next game went pretty much true to form, as 6'7 Soph R.J. Barrett from Montverde (Academy) FL, who finished 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, 6-12 field goals, and 1-2 3-pointers and is our #1-ranked player nationally in the great Class of 2019, led his team to a 73-67 win over Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA.  He also impressed us once again with his length, versatility, athleticism, skills, willingness to compete, and ability to score in a variety of ways.  We would like to see Barrett have more of an outside shooter's mentality and he might be too smooth for his own good, but his basketball IQ, efficiency, and natural talent are off the chart and he is the go-to-guy when his team needs a big play or a big basket.  And providing the perfect complement to Barrett once again out on the perimeter was 6'3 Soph Andrew Nembhard from Montverde (Academy) FL, who impressed us with his ability to both shoot and slash en route to 22 points 9-11 field goals and 2-4 3-pointers.  And the big reason why Bishop Montgomery actually enjoyed several leads early and also led several times early in the third quarter was the excellent guard play and great outside shooting provided by 6'5 Ethan Thompson and 6'4 Jr David Singleton, as they combined for 39 points and 8-13 3-pointers.  Thompson also had four rebounds and seven assists and he played with the kind of high level of intensity that makes him a great catch next year for Oregon State University, where his father is an assistant coach and his older brother is now one of the best players on the team as a sophomore  Singleton is a 2-guard all of the way and he has the speed, quickness, and athleticism necessary to attack the basket and he makes a living with his outside shooting, as is evident by the fact that he was 5-8 from behind the arc.

The final game of the day for our purposes was the best game of the day, as La Porte (La Lumiere) IN jumped out to a 8-0 lead early and remained pretty much in control of things in the first half, although Chatsworth (Sierra Canyon) CA did manage to take a 17-16 lead early in the second quarter on a 3-point shot by 6'0 Remy Martin and tied it at 22-22 before La Lumiere went on a 14-6 run to end the half.  Sierra Canyon then went on a 10-2 run of its own to start the third quarter and tied it at 38-38 on a 3-point play the old-fashioned way by 6'7 Cody Riley.  They also managed to make several other runs and tie it again late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, but never could quite get over the hump until Martin drove right down the middle, converted the basket, got fouled, and made the and-one to put his team up 61-60 with 3.55 left in the game.  Then, Martin went coast-to-coast and scored again to put his team up, 63-60.  From there both teams pretty much traded baskets until it became a free throw shooting contest and Martin hit four straight foul shots and Riley added a pair of his own, as Sierra Canyon pulled off the 74-70 upset against the consensus #1-ranked high school team in the nation.

The leading scorer for Sierra Canyon was 6'10 Jr Marvin Bagley from Chatsworth (Sierra Canyon) CA, who finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots, and 8-14 field goals and is the consensus #1-ranked player nationally in the Class of 2018.  However, the big hero and the star of the game for Sierra Canyon was Remy Martin, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, 13 assists, 6-15 field goals, 1-4 3-pointers, and 5-6 free throws and is an absolute steal for Arizona State.  Riley, who is bound for UCLA and is another guy who had something to prove today after getting snubbed from making the McDonald's All-American Team, chipped in with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 4-10 field goals.  And 6'3 Terrence McBride from Chatsworth (Sierra Canyon) CA, who is good enough to fall into the 150-200 range nationally and is bound for Cornell, added 13 points and knocked down 3-6 field goals.

The leading scorer for La Lumiere was the Michigan State-bound 6'10 Jeron Jackson, who finished with 21 points, 6-15 field goals, and 3-6 3-pointers, including one big trey to keep his team within striking distance at crunch time. We also were really impressed with the relentless energy, athleticism, and intensity provided by 6'8 Brian Bowen from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 7-18 field goals, and 2-4 3-pointers, and is one of the top unsigned players in the senior class nationally, although in the final analysis we suspect that he will end up at Michigan State.  And, of course, there was 6'0 Soph Tyger Campbell from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, who finished with 10 points, six assists, and 4-8 field goals, always does a good job of running the show and getting his teammates involved, and is a top 10-ranked sophomore nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.

One of the highlights of the entire year is always finding out who was named to the McDonald's All-American Game, which was officially announced on Sunday, February 15th and, once again, this year will be played at the United Center in Chicago, IL on Wednesday, March 29th.  And the goods news is that there were no major outliers with regard to players who were selected to play in this year's game, as the East Squad includes 6'11 Mohamed Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, 6'3 Trevon Duval from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'1 Quade Green from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA (Kentucky), 6'2 Collin Sexton from Mableton (Pebblebrook) GA (Alabama), 6'9 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA (Duke), 6'8 Kevin Knox from Tampa (Catholic) FL, 6'7 P.J. Washington from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV (Kentucky), 6'11 Nick Richards from Elizabeth (The Patrick School) NJ (Kentucky), 6'11 Mitchell Robinson from Chalmette (H.S.) LA (Western Kentucky), 6'4 Lonnie Walker from Reading (H.S.) PA (Miami-FL), 6'8 Jarred Vanderbilt from Houston (Victory Prep) TX (Kentucky), 6'8 Kris Wilkes from Indianapolis (North Central) IN (UCLA) and the West Squad includes 6'10 Michael Porter from Seattle (Nathan Hale) WA (Washington), 7'0 DeAndre Ayton from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ (Arizona), 6'2 Trae Young from Norman (North) OK, 6'7 Brian Bowen from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'5 Gary Trent from Napa (Prolific Prep) CA (Duke), 6'10 Billy Preston from Lawrence (H.S.) KS (Kansas), 6'11 Brandon McCoy from San Diego (Cathedral Catholic) CA, 6'3 Jaylen Hands from El Cajon (Foothills Christian) CA (UCLA), 6'6 Charles O'Bannon from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV (USC), 6'5 M.J. Walker from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Troy Brown from Las Vegas (Centennial) NV (Oregon), 6'11 Jaren Jackson from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN (Michigan State).

The West Squad also features the top-two ranked players in the game (Michael Porter and DeAndre Ayton), but otherwise the team's appear to be pretty well balanced, as both teams feature six of our top dozen-ranked seniors.  And, while we give the nod to West Squad with regard to having better front court players, we think the East Squad has better guards and we also think that they have an advantage with regard to heart and toughness.  And that's why we give the East Squad a slight edge in terms of which team we think should be favored to win the game.  We also find it noteworthy that all four of the players (Quade Green, P.J. Washington, Nick Richards, and Jarred Vanderbilt) in the game that are bound for the University of Kentucky are on the East Squad.  However, the other two teams with more than one recruit in the game have one recruit on each team, as the Duke-bound Wendell Carter and Gary Trent and the UCLA-bound Jaylen Hands and Kris Wilkes find themselves on opposite teams. And, as things stand right now, there are still three unsigned players (Mohamed Bamba, Trevon Duval, and Kevin Knox) on the East Squad and four unsigned players (Trae Young, Brian Bowen, Brandon McCoy, and M.J. Walker) on the West Squad.  When we break it down by conference when find that the Pac-12 and the SEC are the big winners with five players apiece represented in the game, although four of the five players heading to schools in the Southeastern Conference are bound for the University of Kentucky.  But some of this could change if Duke lands Mohmed Bamba, Trevon Duval, and/or Kevin Knox, all of whom have the Blue Devils right at the top of their list and they all are on the East Squad.

As for who we think should have been in the game, but did not make the cut, are players like 6'7 John Petty from Huntsville (Jemison) AL, 6'7 Cody Riley from Chatsworth (Sierra Canyon) CA, 5'9 Chris Lyles from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, and 6'3 Paul Scruggs from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV.  And the list of players that we didn't vote for, but were named to play in this year's McDonald's All-American Game were 6'11 Jaren Jackson from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'7 Troy Brown from Las Vegas (Centennial) NV, 6'5 M.J. Walker from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, and 6'8 Kris Wilkes from Indianapolis (North Central) IN.  In my not so humble opinion, we always thought Scruggs, who is originally from Indianapolis (Southport) IN and played on the same club team with Wilkes, was the better of the two players.  Walker didn't play nearly as well in the last two games as he did in the first two games at the Culligan City of Palms Classic and this trend continued when we saw him play several more times in the Beach Ball Classic.  We've also never been on the high end of the spectrum with regard to Brown and Jackson.  However, the former is a big time athlete and the latter did play the best you've ever seen him in the Spalding Hoop Hall Classic, plus he has the size, skills, athleticism, pedigree, and other ingredients necessary to project as a NBA player down the road.  On the other hand, Riley does not project nearly as well for the NBA, although he is a beast around the basket, he's having an excellent senior seasons, and we think he will end being a great college player at UCLA.  Petty had several big games the City of Palms Classic and he picked up where he left after we saw him in Ft. Myers, FL with a terrific game on the final day of action in the Spalding Hoop Hall Classic.  No doubt Lykes gets penalized for being too small, but he more than makes up for his lack of size with his speed, quickness and athleticism, the way he competes and runs a team, and the fact that he is a total winner.  Moral to the story, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder and there are a lot of variables that go into the picking the McDonald's All-American Team.

We also think it is noteworthy to point out that the University of North Carolina has signed the most McDonald's All-American's in the 41-year history of the team (there was no game played back in 1977) and the 40-year history of the game.  However, that could change if Duke hits the jackpot and lands all three of the above mentioned players (Bamba, Duval, and Knox), because North Carolina has landed a total of 71 and Duke has landed a total of 69 McDonald's All-American's.  And, if John Calipari continues to recruiting like his has during his last eight years at the University of Kentucky, then it may be only another couple of years before the Wildcats, which have landed a total of 62 McDonald's All-American's, are knocking on the door right behind the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils as the team with the most McDonald's All-American's.  There also appears to be another interesting race for fourth on this list, as UCLA with 39 players edges out Kansas with 38 players in terms of which schools have signed the most McDonald's All-Americans.  And, when we dig a little deeper we find that the rest of the list includes:  6) Indiana with 27 players, 7) Arizona with 21 players, 7) Louisville with 21 players, 9) Michigan with 20 players, 10) Michigan State with 19 players, 11) Georgia Tech with 18 players, 11) Florida with 18 players, 11) LSU with 18 players, 14) Memphis with 15 players, 14) Maryland with 15 players, 16) Georgetown with 14 players, 17) Villanova with 13 players, 17) Arkansas with 13 players, 19) Illinois with 12 players, 19) St. John's with 12 players, 21) Georgia with 11 players, 21) Alabama with 11 players, 21) Connecticut with 11 players, 21) UNLV with 11 players, 21) Virginia with 11 players, 26) DePaul with 10 players, 26) Florida State with 10 players, 26) Iowa with 10 players named to the prestigious McDonald's All-American Team.

Editor's Note:  A complete list of the McDonald's All-American's signed by each college team can be found below.  And this is important, because it is different from the list that can be found on the McDonald's All-American Game web site, which lists what school each player graduate from, instead of the school in which he signed.  

McDonald’s All-Americans By College

We attended the West Coast Elite Junior All-American Camp, which was held over the weekend at Cerritos College in Mayfair, CA, and, quite honestly, there was not a lot of separation among 6'10 8th Grader Christian Bento from Temecula, CA, 6'1 8th Grader Brandon Perez from Valencia, CA, 5'11 8th Grader Zaon Collins from Las Vegas, NV, 6'6 8th Grader Solomon Jones from Long Beach, CA, and 6'3 8th Grader Malik Thomas from Rancho Cucamonga, CA, who get the nod as the top five players in camp.

So, when it doubt, it's pretty safe to go with size and potential.  And, thanks to his tremendous length, ability to run the court, and good agility, coordination, and mobility, which he uses to rebound, block shots, and score around the basket, the sky's the limit for Christian Bento who reminds us of Stephen Zimmerman at the same stage.  He will need to get bigger and stronger physically and he's not as fragile and can't step and shoot it like Zimmerman could.  However, Bento may grown several more iniches, he's still only just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of reaching his upside and potential, and he knows what he is, which is a true post player.

Perez has good speed, quickness, and athleticism, is versatile enough to play multiple positions, has a soft touch on his jump shot, and is capable of scoring in a variety of ways.  He also knows how to compete, has an excellent feel for the game, and is arguably the most polished and most advanced of the five above mentioned players.  If you will recall, this is the same guy that was the #1-ranked player in camp when we saw him two years at the John Lucas Resources Future of the Game-West Camp and also was one of the key players on a team that advanced all the way to the title game in the 7th Grade Division last spring at John Lucas's All-Star Weekend Tournament in Houston, TX.

Collins was clearly the best point guard in camp and this savvy little floor general has the speed and quickness, ball handling and passing skills, high basketball IQ, and great feel for the game necessary to project as the point guard of the future when he arrives next year at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV.  He also showed that he is more than capable of getting it done against older players last fall at the Pangos All-West Frosh-Soph Camp, where he finished ranked #40 in camp by yours truly and was one of the better players in the Cream of the Crop Top 60 All-Star Game.

Jones was arguably the biggest sleeper to emerge and he more than held his own while matched up against the top big men in camp.  We're talking about somebody who plays with a lot energy, has good hands, quick hops, runs the court, goes strong to the basket, and has a soft touch on his jump shot.  He also has a good nose for the ball, knows how to compete, gets more than his share of rebounds, has a soft touch on his jump shot, and has the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play out on the perimeter.  And the fact that he still has plenty of upside and likely will continue to grow are just added bonuses.

Thomas was clearly the biggest enigma in camp due to the fact that he has a great combination of strength, athleticism, and natural talent.  However, he has no true position based on his in-between size and the fact that he is not a very good outside shooter, does not make good decisions with the basketball, and would rather create for himself than his teammates.  And this was especially obvious on his camp team, as more often than not he was his team's primary ball handler.  On the other hand, he is a tough customer, gets more than his share of rebounds, and is a match-up problem when he goes strong to the basket and finishes at the rim.

We also were impressed with guys like 6'2 8th Grader Devin Askew from Anaheim, CA, 6'7 8th Grader Trumann Gettings from Calabasas, CA, 6'2 8th Grader Justin Ebor from Agoura Hills, CA, 6'4 8th Grader Tyler Powell from Los Angeles, CA, 6'3 8th Grader Dimitrios Stragalinos from Fairfield, 6'4 8th Grader Glenn Taylor from Las Vegas, NV, 5'9 8th Grader Myles Phillips from Renton, WA, 6'5 8th Grader Luke Turner from Temecula, CA, 6'2 8th Grader Adam Hinton from Los Angeles, CA, 6'4 8th Grader Anthony Swift from Las Vegas, NV, 6'2 8th Grader Will McClendon from Henderson, NV, and 6'4 8th Grader Nicholas Davidson from Mission Viejo, CA.

Askew is a multi-dimensional high energy athletic wing who might be too quick for his own good.  However, it's hard not to like the way he goes coast-to-coast and he was one of the better outside shooters in the Top 20 All-Star Game.  Gettings has a good combination of size and power, which he uses to score, rebound, block shots, and do the dirty work around the basket.  And, as an added bonus, he also has surprising athleticism, can step out and score from mid-range, and may grow another couple of inches.  Ebor is a more of a potential guy than a finished product, but he is quick off the feet, he has the length and athleticism necessary to be an excellent shot blocker/defender/rebounder, and he's another guy who likely will continue to grow.  Powell has a good combination of strength and athleticism and what he does best is score inside, rebound, and provide a physical presence around the basket.  He also runs the court and knows how to compete, but will have to continue to grow and/or continue to improve his perimeter skills.  Stagalinos will need to get bigger and stronger physically and develop more of an outside shooter's mentality.  But we like the energy that he brings to the table, his ability to play multiple positions, and the fact that he has the speed, quickness, and athleticism necessary to create plenty of havoc defensively and make a living slashing to the basket.

Taylor is another guy who lacks strength and an outside shooter's mentality, but he is versatile enough to play either forward spot, is good at attacking the basket, and gets after it on the boards.  Phillips didn't do much in the Top 20 All-Star Game, but he did impress us with his speed and quickness, nose for the ball, and ability to knock down the outside shot during the course of the weekend. Turner was relegated to duty in the Top 40 All-Star Game, but he is fluid around the basket, has a soft touch on his jump shot, is an effective rebounder, and has the skills and versatility necessary to play both inside and outside.  Hinton has the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play point guard, but what he does best is use his speed and quickness to get to the basket and knock down the outside shot.  Swift is not a tough customer, but his quick hands and feet, excellent length, ability to rebound and block shots, soft touch on his jump shot, and ability to play both inside and outside makes him very intriguing.  McClendon has a good combination of speed quickness, and athleticism, plus he can knock down the outside shot and has the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play either guard spot.  Davidson lacks strength and toughness, but he is fluid and mobile around the basket, has a soft touch on his mid-range shot, and we suspect that he's going to grow a lot more.

And, when we look at the players in camp from the Class of 2022, we think 6'5 7th Grader Christian Moore from Los Angeles, CA, 6'1 7th Grader Jaxon Kohler from American Fork, UT, 5'7 7th Grader Ben Shtolzberg from Northridge CA, 6'0 7th Grader Gabriel Quiette from Fullerton, CA, 5'10 7th Grader Dimitrius Dudley from San Diego, CA, and 5'8 7th Grader Xavier Alexander from Orange, CA are among those that deserve special attention.  Moore was clearly the most talented player in the Class of 2022 All-Star Game and it was hard not be enamored with his length and athleticism, ability to run the court, finish off transition, and get more than his share of rebounds and put-backs.  However, he will need to get bigger and stronger physically, plus he has a tendency to over handle the ball in the open court.  Kohler has a soft touch on his jump shot, the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play out on the perimeter, and the toughness and willingness to compete necessary to get it done around the basket.  So, when you also factor in the fact that he has excellent skills and the likelihood that he may end up being 6'9 or 6'10, it's easy to see why Zach Collins-like comparisons may be order

Shtolzberg is a tough hardnosed point guard with good ball handling and passing skills, excellent court savvy, a high basketball IQ, deceptive speed and quickness, and knack for making those around him better.  Quiette is an athletic wing forward who makes a living off transition and finishing at the rim, plus he has an excellent nose for the ball and gets more than his share of rebounds.  Dudley is another guy who brings a lot of energy to the table and his forte is going coast-to-coast and attacking the basket.  Alexander was not given a chance to play in the Top 2022 All-Star Game, but this multi-dimensional athletic wing forward caught our eye during the course of the weekend with his speed, quickness, and athleticism, ability score in a variety of ways, and the fact that he gets more than his share of rebounds.

The best player in camp in the Class of 2023 was 5'10 6th Grader Isaiah Chappell from Los Angeles, CA and his ability to play both inside and outside was especially evident in the Class of 2023 All-Star Game, as he played center and was a force to be reckoned with around the basket on defense and stepped out and knocked down a number of threes at the offensive end.  Several other players that we liked and think are worth mentioning in this age group are 5'10 6th Grader Jackson Bader from Tucson, AZ, 5'11 6th Grader Zack Davidson from Mission Viejo, CA, and 4'10 6th Grader Jaden Fisher from Lancaster, CA.  Bader has a long wing span, plays with a lot of energy, has a good nose for the ball, and is very active around the basket.  Davidson is one of those guys who does a little bit of everything and, with his ability to get the rebound and start the fast break, he was one of the best players in the Class of 2023 All-Star Game.

What a difference a year can make!  And a perfect example of what we're talking about is 5'8 7th Grader Mason Manning from Jackson, MS, who was the best player at the 10th Annual Global Elite Camp, which was held over the weekend at the Mississippi Basketball & Athletics facility in Jackson, MS, was run by Omhar Carter and MBA Hoops, and featured some of the top middle school players from that part of the country.  When talking about the top three players in this camp a year ago, we said "Manning is a year younger than the other two, but was able stay with them both step-for-step defensively, plus he has the speed and quickness, ball skills, knack for being able to run a team, deep shooting range on his jump shot, and the basketball IQ and court savvy necessary for Omhar Carter, who is the Director of the MBA Hoops club team program, to already be touting him as the next on a long list of great players that he has trained and/or play or have played in his club team program (i.e. Monta  Ellis, LaQuinton Ross, Rodney Hood, Deville Smith, Malik Newman, Mario Kegler, and Michael Barber)."

Manning did a have a tendency to pull the trigger a lot more often than he did a year ago, but he has grown at least three inches in the last 12 months, plus he has a great nose for the ball and makes a lot things happen at both ends of the court.  However, even more important, it's obvious that taken his taken his game to another level, can get his shot seemingly at will against anybody, and has developed the kind of takeover mentality that he will need to be ranked among the top five players nationally in his class and perhaps walk in year-after-next and play a lot as a freshman at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, VA.  At least that's the plan right now and, if he continues to grow at this current pace, by that time, he should be 5'11 or 6'0 tall.  And he definitely knows what he's getting into due to the fact that he was able to tag along with Carter and watch Oak Hill play on numerous occasions during the last several years.  If you will recall, Mario Kegler and 6'11 Kenneth  Nwuba both came up through the ranks playing for the MBA Hoops program, the former played at Oak Hill a year ago, and the latter has been there for the last three years.

The other player who really separated himself from all of the rest of the players in this camp was 6'2 8th Grader Joshua Lee from Canton, MS.  We're talking about a multi-dimensional athletic wing who not only plays above the rims, makes a living off transition, and is explosive to the basket, but also has good handling and passing skills for somebody his size, rebounds extremely well for his position, and is capable of getting his shot and knocking it down from behind the arc.  He does have a tendency to over handle the ball and attempt to be his team's primary ball handler.  However, in a camp like this, that sometimes tends to be the nature of the beast.  On the other hand, Lee has to be one of the better players nationally in his class right now and, with his size, skills, athleticism, and versatility, the sky's the limit with normal growth and development.

The two best big guys in camp were 6'5 8th Grader Joseph Dupree from Jackson, MS and 6'8 8th Grader Eric Williams from Baton Rouge, LA.  Dupree will need to improve his upper body strength and do a better job of finishing through contact, but he does have good size, moves and footwork in the post, trends to get more than his share of rebounds and put-backs, and, if he continues to grow, has plenty of upside and potential.  Williams run the court extremely well, has quick hands and feet, is active around the basket, and sure passes the look test with his size, length, and athleticism.  However, he is another guy who will have to get bigger and stronger physically and continue to develop his offensive skills, which means he's more of a potential guy than a finished product.  Another guy who separated himself from all the rest was 5'8 8th Grader Anthony Lumpkin from Vicksburg, MS and, although he has a tendency to over handle and does a better job of creating for himself than his teammates, he does make a living off transition and he is almost impossible to stop when he attacks the basket.

We also were intrigued with a number of guys, like 5'11 8th Grader Jeremiah Jones from Lexington, KY, 5'8 7th Grader Jacob Wilson from Baton Rouge, LA, 6'2 8th Grader Keshawn Brown from Vicksburg, MS, 5'10 8th Grader Nasir Degruy from New Orleans, LA, 6'3 8th Grader Brandon Singletary from Madison, MS, 5'11 7th Grader Justin Lawrence from New Orleans, LA, 6'1 8th Grader Jamond Baker from New Orleans, LA, 6'6 8th Grader Clifton Summeral from Hattiesburg, MS, 5'5 7th Grader Cameron Brent from Jackson, MS, 6'1 7th Grader Ladarion Perkins from Jackson, MS, 6'1 8th Grader Kito Windom from Corinth MS. 5'2 6th Grader Blake Reed from Lexington, KY, and 4'7 5th Grader Cayden Reed from Lexington, KY.  Jones is an athletic 2-guard who uses his speed and quickness to makes things happen in the court, create havoc at the defensive end, and slash to the basket and finish at the rim.  Wilson is a no-frills point guard with the excellent speed and quickness necessary to go along with his good ball handling and passing skills, willingness to get his teammates involved, and knack for being able to get to the rim.  Brown is not a tough customer, but this long lanky athletic combo forward showed he can score both inside and outside, was active on the boards, and has plenty of upside and potential.

What Degruy lacks in strength, he more than makes up for with his ability to handle, defend, slash, and create his own shot.  Singletary is a long lanky athletic 4-man who runs the court and makes a living on the boards, getting put-backs, and finishing in the post.  Lawrence is an athletic 2-guard with excellent speed and quickness and his forte is attacking the rim.  Baker has the versatility and athleticism necessary to play both inside and outside, but he's more of a four than three and he does his best work around the basket.  Summeral has good length, a soft touch, a nice frame and, with normal growth and development, plenty of upside and potential.  Brent has excellent ball handling and passing skills, a high basketball IQ, and good and speed quickness with the ball and he plays like he's the son of a coach (his father Wayne Brent is the head coach at Jackson State).   Windom is an athletic 2-guard with the versatility and skills necessary to do a little bit of everything.  Those last two are brothers and, we actually liked the younger one a little better due to the fact that he displayed no fear while knocking down more than his share of outside shots and playing against guys a lot bigger and stronger and several years older.  As for the older one, he's more of a pure point guard and he did a good job of getting his teammates involved and running the show.

There are three prerequisites for identifying a great class nationally in the high school basketball world.   They are size, star power, and depth and, while the Class of 2019 may not turn out to be as good as the great Class of 1979, which featured Ralph Sampson, Clark Kellogg, Sam Bowie, Dominic Wilkins, Steve Stipanovich, Isaiah Thomas, James Worthy, Antoine Carr, et al.; the great Class of 1988, which featured Alonzo Mourning, Shawn Kemp, Billy Owens, Chris Jackson, Jay Bias, Chris Mills, Christian Laettner,  Don MacLain, LaPhonso Ellis, Stanley Roberts, et al; the great Class of 2005, which featured Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ron Mercer, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Robert Traylor, et al,; and the great Class of 2007, which featured Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, DeAndre Jordan, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Jerryd Bayless, et al.; it does have all of the ingredients necessary to be the best class to come down the pike in more than a decade.

And a quick look at our Ranking of the Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2019, which can be found below, shows that it has plenty of size, as is evident by the fact that 36 of the top 100-ranked players in this class are already 6'8 or taller.  This list includes 6'10 Soph Vernon Carey from Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL, 6'11 Soph Charles Bassey from San Antonio (St. Anthony's Catholic) TX, 6'8 Soph Chandler Lawson from Memphis (East) TN, 7'1 Soph Chol Marial from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'9 Soph Trendon Watford from Mountain Brook (H.S.) AL, 6'9 Soph Patrick McCaffery from Iowa City (West) IA, 6'9 Soph Okyeke Okongwu from Chino Hills (H.S.) CA, 6'10 Soph James Wiseman from Nashville (Ensworth) TN, 7'1 Soph Balsas Koprivica from Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL, 6'10 Soph Samba Kane from Aurora (Regis Jesuit) CO, 6'8 Soph Matthew Hurt from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, 6'8 Soph Keion Brooks from Ft. Wayne (Northside) IN, 6'8 Soph Isaiah Stewart from Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY, 6'9 Soph Raymond Hawkins from Oakland (Bishop O'Dowd) CA, 6'10 Soph Nobal Days from Racine (Racine Park) WI, 6'9 Soph Jared Jones from Mableton (H.S.) GA, 6'8 Soph B.J. Mack from Charlotte (Christian) NC, 6'10 Soph Antwan January from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'9 Soph Francis Chibuke-Okoro from Normal (Community West) IL, 6'9 Soph Taylor Currie from Clarkston (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Soph Malcolm Dandridge from Memphis (East) TN, 6'8 Soph Isaiah Mobley from Temecula (Rancho Christian) CA, 6'11 Soph Qudus Wahab from Ashburn (Virginia Academy) VA, 6'8 Soph Quinn Slazinski from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'10 Soph Isaac Johnson from American Fork (H.S.) UT, 6'8 Soph Oscar Tshiebwe from Grundy (Mountain Mission) VA, 6'9 Soph Makhi Mitchell from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, 7'0 Soph Naheem McLeod form Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA, 6'9 Soph Maxwell Locra-Lloyd from Northfield (Northfield-Mount Hermon) MA, 6'11 Soph Kofi Cockburn from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'10 Soph John Bol-Ajak from Exton (Church Farm) PA, 6'8 Soph Alonzo Gaffney from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, 6'9 Soph D.J. Burns from Rock Hill (York Prep) SC, 7'2 Soph Assane Diouf from Denver (East) CO, 6'9 Soph Drew Timme from Richardson (Pearce) TX, and 7'3 Soph Matt Van Komen from Lebi (H.S.) UT.

Even more amazing is the fact that all of these guys will still have two more years of high school remaining after the current season is over and many of them are not done growing.  And, when we break it down even further, the first 10 of the aforementioned players are ranked among the top 25 players nationally in the class, the next 10 of the aforementioned players are ranked in the 27-to-51 range in the class, 15 of the aforementioned players are 6'10 or bigger, and there are five 7-footers in this class.

The Class of 2019 also has a tremendous star power, as is evident by the fact that 6'7 Soph R.J. Barrett from Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'10 Soph Vernon Carey from Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL, 6'11 Soph Charles Bassey from San Antonio (St. Anthony's Catholic) TX, 6'5 Soph Scottie Lewis from Tinton Falls (Ramney) NJ, 6'8 Soph Chandler Lawson from Memphis (East) TN, 7'1 Soph Chol Marial from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'9 Soph Trendon Watford from Mountain Brook (H.S.) AL,  6'5 Soph Cassius Stanley from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'4 Bryan Antoine from Tinton Falls (Ranney) NJ, and 5'11 Soph Tyger Campbell from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN not only are good enough to be ranked among the top 10 players in the class, but they also have surpassed a lot of the players in the two classes ahead of them and/or are oozing with upside and potential.

And what the fact that 6'2 Soph LaMelo Ball from Chino Hills (H.S.) CA recently scored 92 points in a game, 6'9 Soph Patrick McCaffery from Iowa City (West) IA is one of the fastest rising players nationally in the class and has superstar written all over him, 6'7 Soph D.J. Jeffries from Olive Branch (H.S.) MS is a multi-dimensional athletic wing forward who has been described as "a more well-round LaQuinton Ross," 6'7 Soph A.J. Lawson from Brampton (GTA Preparatory School) ON has the versatility and athleticism necessary to play another from the one to the four-spot and is one of the best players not yet on your radar screen, and 6'1 Soph Cole Anthony from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY is a tremendous floor general and he promises to be the next great point guard to comes out NYC?

As for the depth of talent in the Class of 2019, there were at least 150 players that we thought deserved top 100 consideration.  It also looks like Virginia Tech is off to the races with the best recruiting class thus far in the Class of 2019, as the Hokies already have three top 100-ranked players in the fold in 6'8 Soph B.J. Mack from Charlotte (Christian) NC, 6'1 Soph Kobe Langley from High Point (Southwest Guilford) NC, and 6'0 Soph Keyshaun Langley from High Point (Southwest Guilford) NC.  Also already off the board and ranked among the top 100 sophomores nationally are 6'2 Soph LaMelo Ball from Chino Hills (H.S.) CA, who is bound for UCLA, 5'9 Soph Sahvir Wheeler from Houston (Christian) TX, who is bound for Texas A&M, and 6'9 Soph Jared Jones from Mableton (PebblebrooK) GA, who is bound for Auburn.

It also comes as no surprise that California with 12 players and Texas with nine players are the two states that are the most represented in our Ranking of the Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2019.  However, it does come as somewhat of a surprise that the top two players on this list both attend high school in Florida and the Sunshine State also checks in at #3 with eight players on the list, ahead of New Jersey and North Carolina with six players apiece, North Carolina with five players, and Tennessee, Indiana, New York, and Maryland, each of which have four players on this list.

The only cause for concern about this class is that there appears to be an overabundance of guys who have a major age advantage when compared to everybody else in their class and, as a result, players like R.J. Barrett, Cassius Stanley, & Tyger Campbell, may not have as much upside and potential as some of the other players on this list.

If we had any doubts about the fact that 6'0 7th Grader Bryce Griggs from Lake Jackson, TX is the best player in the nation in the Class of 2022, he eliminated them at this year's John Lucas All-Star Weekend, which was held over the weekend in Houston, TX and featured a number of the top middle school teams and players from around the nation.  We're talking about a strong physical athletic combo-guard who knows how to compete, is explosive off the dribble, has deep range on his jump shot, and is capable of putting up prolific numbers.  He also handles the ball well against pressure, has a good feel for the game, is not afraid to put a body on you when he attacks the basket, and was the catalyst for his team advancing all the way to the Championship Game of the 7th Grade Division, where NIKE Pro Skills lost to the ATL Cavs, 77-72.  Not only did he finish with 32 points in the title game, but he also had 35 points in the semi-finals against the Atlanta Celtics and 5'10 7th Grader Bruce Thornton from Atlanta, GA in what was arguably the best match-up/highlight of the entire weekend.

Thornton had 25 points of his own in that game, plus he tossed in 32 points and 20 points when we saw his team play in their first and second games in pool play. He also has an excellent feel for the game and the ball handling and passing skills necessary to run the point.  However, he has such a scorer's mentality and is equally effective when it comes to knocking down the outside shot, getting to his spots, pulling up, and hitting the mid-range jump shot, and using his strength to get to the basket and draw the and-one.  He also has excellent speed and quickness, knows how to compete and is an excellent defender, has a great nose for the ball and rebounds the ball extremely well for his and position, and is good enough to be ranked among the top five or 10 players nationally in the Class of 2022.  And, as an added bonus, Thornton also won't turn 14-years-old until September, which makes younger than a lot of the other players in his class, which is important when we start talking about upside and potential.

Another guy who falls into the explosive prolific scoring combo guard category is 5'9 8th Grader Jaylen Bolden from Jackson, MS and, although his team lost to the Houston Hoops Blue Chips Felix in the quarterfinals of the 8th Grade Division, he finished with 35 points and made several big 3-pointers to help keep the Jackson Tigers within striking distance down the stretch of that game.  However, he's really more of a slasher than an outside shooter, as he made a living using his explosiveness to beat everybody in transition and high flying athleticism to finish at the rim.  And, in addition to his unbelievable speed and quickness, he also has good ball handling and passing skills, seems to have a knack for balancing scoring in bunches and getting his teammates involved, and arguably was a good as any player that we saw in the 8th Grade Division.

And that's saying a lot, because we thought 6'0 8th Grader Ricardo Sarimento from Phoenix, AZ was sensational for the West Coast All-Stars against NIKE Team Griffin in their final game in pool play on Saturday.  Sarimento is an athletic combo guard who brings an unbelievable amount of energy and intensity to the table, plus he's one those guys who has ice in his veins, as is evident by the fact that he always seems to come up with the clutch steal or make the big shot.  He also is capable of playing either guard spot, has a great nose for the ball, can create his own shot, and has a knack for being to use his speed and quickness to get to the rim.

Sarimento also was clearly better than 6'5 8th Grader Jonathan Lawson from Memphis, TN, who is ranked among the top five players nationally in the Class of 2021, but did not quite live up to expectation throughout the entire weekend and the West Coast All-Stars went down in flames against the Kansas Pray & Play Players in the quarterfinals of the 8th Grade Division. If you recall, Jonathan is supposed to be more athletic, a better shooter, and have more of a killer mentality than his three older brother's (Detric and K.J., both of whom are now at the University of Memphis, and Chandler, who is ranked #5 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP).  However, he clearly lacked a takeover mentality, plus maybe he had to play more inside than to his liking (he thinks he's a point guard) and he did nothing to set himself apart from Sarimento and 6'9 8th Grader Chuks Isitua from Nashville, TN, who clearly was the most intriguing big man prospects that we saw all weekend.  Isitua is a long athletic shot blocking big man with good hands, excellent footwork, and a great nose for the ball, which allows him to be a very good rebounder at both ends of the court.   He does need to continue to work on his offensive repertoire, but he is quick to the basket and it's hard not to like his upside and potential.

In sharp contrast were 6'6 8th Grader Reuben "Deuce" Fatheree from Richmond, TX and 6'0 8th Grader Kamryn Waites from McKinney, TX, who are pair of wide bodies that turned out to be two of the more productive players in the tournament. The former is a force to be reckoned with around the basket with his upper body strength, ability to finish through contacts, and dominance on the boards.  He also has deceptive mobility, runs the court pretty well for somebody his size, and does a nice job of getting the ball out in a hurry on the fast break, plus he was perfect complement to 6'3 8th Grader Chris Felix from Fresno, TX, who has all of the ingredients necessary to arguably was the best pure point guard in the tournament, on a team that got knocked off by RM5 Red in the semi-finals of the 8th Grade Division.  The latter is often referred to as "Baby Shaq" and he was the one who set the tone early, as his team coasted to an impressive 67-28 win in the Championship Game of the 8th Grade Division.  What he does best is take up space, rebound, and score around the basket, but what really gets us excited is the fact that he has a size 20 shoe, is expected to continue to grow (his mother is 6'1), and he has a tremendous amount of upside and potential.

There also were 6'5 8th Grader Jaylon McDaniel from Lee Summit, MO, 6'3 8th Grader Daylon Jones from Wichita, KS, and 5'9 8th Grader Stevie Strong from Kansas City, MO, who provided an excellent one-two-three punch for the Kansas City Pray & Play Players.  McDaniel is a long athletic combo forward with a good nose for the ball, excellent quickness, and the ability to score around the basket, plus he handles the ball well for somebody his size and isn't shy when it comes time to grab the defensive rebound and go coast-to-coast.  Jones will need to get bigger and stronger physically and improve his outside shooting, but we liked his good ball handling and passing skills, nice size for his position, and the fact that he has good body control and makes a living slashing to the basket.  Strong gets mentioned, even though he lacks size and strength and is really an undersized 2-guard, because he knocked down four treys in the game we watched and was one of the better outside shooter's that we saw in the tournament.

And so was 6'2 8th Grader Matthew Stone from Oklahoma City, OK, who not only has deep range on his jump shot, but also is like money in the bank when he gets his feet set, squares up, and gets an open look.  Stone also has good size, the skills necessary to play multiple positions, and he was good enough to be ranked among the top 10-players in this age group at this event.  Another guy that was one of the better players in this age group was 6'2 8th Grader Brandon Harton from Baton Rouge, LA, who has a good combination of strength and athleticism, the versatility to play both inside and outside, and a soft touch on his jump shot, which he uses to score around the basket and pull the trigger from behind the arc.  There also was 6'3 8th Grader Steve "Trey" Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, who is the nephew of former University of Oklahoma standout DeAngelo Alexander.  And, just like his uncle, Alexander has big time athleticism, good size and skills for his position, and, whether it be with his outside shooting or explosiveness to the rim, is capable of putting up impressive numbers.

We also were very impressed with the one-two inside punch that 6'7 8th Grader Duncan Powell from De Soto, TX and 6'6 8th Grader Shannon Lowery from Mansfield, TX brought to the table for B.M.M. Elite.  Powell is a long lean fluid athletic power forward who is active around the basket, gets more than his share rebounds, and has the natural talent necessary to be ranked among the top five players in this event.  However, he will need to get bigger and stronger physically and/or develop more of an outside shooter's mentality, if he doesn't want to ultimately end up being a guy without a true position.  Lowery falls into a similar category, as he has long arms, good hands, and excellent hops and what he does best is use his quickness and athleticism to get more than his share of rebounds, block shots, and score around the basket.

And the Ballers Select featured 5'11 Frosh Darryl Jackson from Los Angeles, CA and 6'5 8th Grader Kijani Wright from Los Angeles, CA.  Jackson is the better player right now, thanks to his good ball handing and passing skills, excellent speed and quickness and ability to blow right past would be defender, and knack being able to create for both himself and his teammates.  Wright will need to get bigger and stronger physically and develop more of a takeover mentality, but he's very active around the basket and it's hard not to like his length, athleticism, natural talent, and potential.

We also don't want to forget about 6'2 7th Grader Amari Thomas from Wichita, KS, who is extremely athletic, versatile enough to play both inside and outside, and capable of scoring in a variety of ways.  He also has a good feel for the game, sets a lot of picks and screens, and is talented enough to be ranked as the third best player in the 7th Grade Division, right behind  6'0 7th Grader Bryce Griggs from Lake Jackson, TX and 5'10 7th Grader Bruce Thornton from Atlanta, GA.

When we published our Exclusive Ranking of the Top Colleges in College Basketball a year ago, the storyline was the imminent "changing of the guard" in college basketball that is sure to occur when many of the top coaches in the game finally call it quits sometime in the not too distant future.  And, at the time, we pointed out that there were major questions about who would be right at the top of the list of head coaches once the torched was actually passed.  However, after Villanova's run through last year's NCAA Tournament, it became obvious that Wildcats head coach Jay Wright is now the guy that everybody else will have to catch and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that he currently checks in at #4, behind Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams and ahead of John Calipari, Bill Self, Tom Izzo, Bobby Huggins, Jim Boeheim, Lon Kruger, Sean Miller, Mark Few, Mike Brey, Dana Altman, Tony Bennett, Jim Larranaga, Scott Drew, Steve Alford, Buzz Williams, Tubby Smith, et al. in our Ranking of the Top 60 Head Coaches in the College Game Today.

We also think it's pretty clear-cut that after last year's near miss at another NCAA Championship and the Tar Heels being one of the best teams in college basketball all this season, that Roy Williams now must be placed in the #3 spot when we're talking about the best head coaches in the game today.  But we are less sure about what to do with John Calipari, Bill Self, and Tom Izzo, all of whom have been pretty much interchangeable with Williams in the four-to-seven spots in recent years.  Obviously some of this has to do with who is hot and who is not and, as a result, Izzo drops from #4 to #7 based on the fact that Michigan State has not been quite as good as one might expect this past season.  On the hand, Williams has moved up several spots from a year ago.  It also is too close to call among all of the guys in the eight-to-12-range, as you can make an argument for Bobby Huggins, Jim Boeheim, Lon Kruger, Sean Miller, and Mark Few being in any one of those spots.  However, in the final analysis, those first three get the nod based on the fact that they have all made more than one NCAA Final Four appearance during the course of their career.  And, thus far, this is something that has alluded the next five guys (Sean Miller, Mark Few, Mike Brey, Dana Altman, and Tony Bennett) on our list.

Another interesting footnote with regard to our Ranking of the Top 60 Head Coaches in the College Game Today involves the fact that eight of the top 20-ranked guys on this list are at schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  And this is not something that Miami's Jim Larranaga and Virginia Tech's Buzz Williams probably want to hear, as they check in at #16 and #19 on this list, but find themselves ranked no higher than #7 and #8, behind four Hall of Famers and Mike Brey and Tony Bennett, among coaches in the league,  We also find when we dig a little deeper that only two other ACC head coaches (Leonard Hamilton and Kevin Stallings) can be found on this list and, as a result, anybody who takes over at places like N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Clemson really has their work cut out for them. We also think it is interesting to point out that the Big-10 and the Big-12 Conferences each have seven head coaches that are included on this list, while the Southeastern Conference and the American Athletic Conference both have six apiece.  However, the SEC Conference only has one guy (John Calipari) who is included among the top 20 head coaches in the game today.

However, it may be only a matter of time before Ben Howland at Mississippi State, Frank Martin at South Carolina, Bruce Pearl at Auburn, and Mark Anderson at Arkansas ascend into the top 20 and Florida boss Michael White is currently one of the hottest young up-and-coming guys in the business.  And to make the story even more interesting is the possibility that White could end up being on the short list for the Duke job, if he guides to the Gators to a NCAA Final Four appearance, the timing is right, and there is no clear-up favorite among Mike Brey, Chris Collins, Steve Wojciechowski, Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, and Jeff Capel when Mike Krzyzewski finally does decide to hang it up as boss of the Blue Devils.  Remember, blood is thicker than water and White's father (Kevin White) is the Director of Athletics at Duke University.

It also looks like SMU hasn't missed a beat since the retirement of Larry Brown last summer and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that Tim Jankovich has moved up to #2, behind Michael White, in our Ranking of the Top 30 Head Coaches in the Middle of their Career (more than five years, but not more than 20 years of head coaching experience at the Division I level), But Are not Included on the Top 60 Head Coaches List.  And, of course, there also is plenty of depth on this list, as Butler's Chris Holtmann, Rhode Island's Danny Hurley, Seton Hall's Kevin Willard, Princeton's Mitch Henderson, USC's Andy Enfield, California's Cuonzo Martin, Florida Gulf Coast's Joe Dooley, and Creighton's Greg McDermott are all guys whose value is dramatically on the rise.

Our Ranking of the Top 30 Up & Coming Head Coaches (Five Years or Less as a Division I Head Coach) also reads like a Who's Who of guys that an astute athletic director should hire.  And right at the top of the list is Chris Collins, who has not only done the impossible and totally turned the Northwestern program around, but also has guided the Wildcats this year to the most wins during a season in school history.  It also is hard not to be impressed with VCU's Will Wade, who is one of the hottest guys in the business and is rumored to be a candidate for a number of the top job openings, including N.C. State and LSU.  There also is plenty of depth on this list as well, as Oklahoma State's Brian Underwood, Wisconsin's Greg Gard, Marquette's Steve Wojciechowski, Minnesota's Richard Pitino, East Tennessee State's Steve Forbes, UNC-Wilmington's Kevin Keatts, UT-Chattanooga's Mike McCall, Louisiana Tech's Eric Konkol, and North Carolina Central's LeVelle Moton have left their mark in just a short time as head coaches at the Division I level.

Kansas' Kurtis Townsend once again heads our List of The Top 30 Assistant Coaches at the High Major Level after a one-year hiatus (Rick Stansbury took the spot a year ago when he was an assistant coach at Texas A&M)  But otherwise there has not be much movement at the top of this list in recent years due to the lack of movement (i.e. Kenny Payne isn't going to leave the University of Kentucky, unless he can land a big time job; Jeff Capel is perfectly positioned to get the Duke job when Mike Krzyzewski retires, if the Blue Devils hire from within; and Mike Hopkins already is the heir apparent to Jim Boeheim, who is expected to retire after the 2017-18 season.  On the other hand, there are a few exceptions, like UCLA's David Grace and Connecticut's Dwayne Killings, both of whom have skyrocketed up the list this year, and Alabama's John Pelphrey, who has always been one the best in the business, but was out of coaching for a year after Billy Donovan left the University of Florida two years ago for the Oklahoma City Thunder job in the NBA.  We also don't want to forget about Butch Pierre, who would have had a top 10 spot on this list, if Mark Gottfried and his staff hadn't already gotten the ax at N.C. State.

Our Ranking of the Top 40 Assistant Coach at Schools Below the High Major Level includes some guys, like Portland's Bob Cantu, Florida Gulf Coast's Tom Abatemarco, Charlotte's Chris Ferguson, and Nevada's Dave Rice, who have been there and done that at the high Division I level and/or as Division I head coaches.  Cantu was a long time assistant coach at USC and ended up being the interim head coach during his last year with the Trojan.  Abatemarco was an assistant coach at N.C. State and later gained head coaching experience at Lamar, Drake, and Sacramento State.  Chris Ferguson has made stops as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech, Tennessee, and Oklahoma State.  Dave Rice was an assistant coach at UNLV and Brigham Young before later becoming the boss of the Runnin' Rebels.

And sandwiched in-between these guys are Quinnipiac's Sean Doherty, Cal-State Northridge's Chris Pompey, Iona's Jared Grasso, and Saint Louis' Van Macon. Quite honestly, we don't know what to do with Doherty, because he was the right hand man to Tom Moore, who recently got fired at Quinnipiac.  However, Doherty is one of the most astute guys in the business, is both a tireless recruiter and an excellent bench coach, and he's just too good at what he does to keep off this list.  Pompey is a phenomenal recruiter and he has been quietly laying foundation last several years for Reggie Theus to turn things around at Cal-State-Northridge.  Grasso has spent the last seven seasons as Tim Cluess' right hand man at Iona and the word on the street is that he might be line to return to his alma mater and become the next head coach at Quinnipiac.  Macon paid his dues coming up through the ranks with stops at Adelphi, Marist, Lafayette, SUNY-Farmingdale, Hofstra, and Rutgers and he it should only be a matter of time before Saint Louis starts to reap the benefit of his Northeast connections.

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP 60 HEAD COACHES IN THE COLLEGE GAME TODAY

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP 30 HEAD COACHES IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR CAREER (MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, BUT NOT MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE AT THE DIVISION I LEVEL), BUT ARE NOT INCLUDED ON THE ABOVE TOP 60 LIST

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP  30 UP & COMING HEAD COACHES (FIVE YEARS OR LESS AS A DIVISION I HEAD COACH)

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE 60 ASSISTANT COACHES AT THE HIGH MAJOR LEVEL

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP 40 ASSISTANT COACHES AT SCHOOLS BELOW THE HIGH MAJOR LEVEL

When we published our Exclusive Ranking of the Top Colleges in College Basketball a year ago, the storyline was the imminent "changing of the guard" in college basketball that is sure to occur when many of the top coaches in the game finally call it quits sometime in the not too distant future.  And, at the time, we pointed out that there were major questions about who would be right at the top of the list of head coaches once the torched was actually passed.  However, after Villanova's run through last year's NCAA Tournament, it became obvious that Wildcats head coach Jay Wright is now the guy that everybody else will have to catch and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that he currently checks in at #4, behind Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams and ahead of John Calipari, Bill Self, Tom Izzo, Bobby Huggins, Jim Boeheim, Lon Kruger, Sean Miller, Mark Few, Mike Brey, Dana Altman, Tony Bennett, Jim Larranaga, Scott Drew, Steve Alford, Buzz Williams, Tubby Smith, et al. in our Ranking of the Top 60 Head Coaches in the College Game Today.

We also think it's pretty clear-cut that after last year's near miss at another NCAA Championship and the Tar Heels being one of the best teams in college basketball all this season, that Roy Williams now must be placed in the #3 spot when we're talking about the best head coaches in the game today.  But we are less sure about what to do with John Calipari, Bill Self, and Tom Izzo, all of whom have been pretty much interchangeable with Williams in the four-to-seven spots in recent years.  Obviously some of this has to do with who is hot and who is not and, as a result, Izzo drops from #4 to #7 based on the fact that Michigan State has not been quite as good as one might expect this past season.  On the hand, Williams has moved up several spots from a year ago.  It also is too close to call among all of the guys in the eight-to-12-range, as you can make an argument for Bobby Huggins, Jim Boeheim, Lon Kruger, Sean Miller, and Mark Few being in any one of those spots.  However, in the final analysis, those first three get the nod based on the fact that they have all made more than one NCAA Final Four appearance during the course of their career.  And, thus far, this is something that has alluded the next five guys (Sean Miller, Mark Few, Mike Brey, Dana Altman, and Tony Bennett) on our list.

Another interesting footnote with regard to our Ranking of the Top 60 Head Coaches in the College Game Today involves the fact that eight of the top 20-ranked guys on this list are at schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  And this is not something that Miami's Jim Larranaga and Virginia Tech's Buzz Williams probably want to hear, as they check in at #16 and #19 on this list, but find themselves ranked no higher than #7 and #8, behind four Hall of Famers and Mike Brey and Tony Bennett, among coaches in the league,  We also find when we dig a little deeper that only two other ACC head coaches (Leonard Hamilton and Kevin Stallings) can be found on this list and, as a result, anybody who takes over at places like N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Clemson really has their work cut out for them. We also think it is interesting to point out that the Big-10 and the Big-12 Conferences each have seven head coaches that are included on this list, while the Southeastern Conference and the American Athletic Conference both have six apiece.  However, the SEC Conference only has one guy (John Calipari) who is included among the top 20 head coaches in the game today.

However, it may be only a matter of time before Ben Howland at Mississippi State, Frank Martin at South Carolina, Bruce Pearl at Auburn, and Mark Anderson at Arkansas ascend into the top 20 and Florida boss Michael White is currently one of the hottest young up-and-coming guys in the business.  And to make the story even more interesting is the possibility that White could end up being on the short list for the Duke job, if he guides to the Gators to a NCAA Final Four appearance, the timing is right, and there is no clear-up favorite among Mike Brey, Chris Collins, Steve Wojciechowski, Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, and Jeff Capel when Mike Krzyzewski finally does decide to hang it up as boss of the Blue Devils.  Remember, blood is thicker than water and White's father (Kevin White) is the Director of Athletics at Duke University.

It also looks like SMU hasn't missed a beat since the retirement of Larry Brown last summer and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that Tim Jankovich has moved up to #2, behind Michael White, in our Ranking of the Top 30 Head Coaches in the Middle of their Career (more than five years, but not more than 20 years of head coaching experience at the Division I level), But Are not Included on the Top 60 Head Coaches List.  And, of course, there also is plenty of depth on this list, as Butler's Chris Holtmann, Rhode Island's Danny Hurley, Seton Hall's Kevin Willard, Princeton's Mitch Henderson, USC's Andy Enfield, California's Cuonzo Martin, Florida Gulf Coast's Joe Dooley, and Creighton's Greg McDermott are all guys whose value is dramatically on the rise.

Our Ranking of the Top 30 Up & Coming Head Coaches (Five Years or Less as a Division I Head Coach) also reads like a Who's Who of guys that an astute athletic director should hire.  And right at the top of the list is Chris Collins, who has not only done the impossible and totally turned the Northwestern program around, but also has guided the Wildcats this year to the most wins during a season in school history.  It also is hard not to be impressed with VCU's Will Wade, who is one of the hottest guys in the business and is rumored to be a candidate for a number of the top job openings, including N.C. State and LSU.  There also is plenty of depth on this list as well, as Oklahoma State's Brian Underwood, Wisconsin's Greg Gard, Marquette's Steve Wojciechowski, Minnesota's Richard Pitino, East Tennessee State's Steve Forbes, UNC-Wilmington's Kevin Keatts, UT-Chattanooga's Mike McCall, Louisiana Tech's Eric Konkol, and North Carolina Central's LeVelle Moton have left their mark in just a short time as head coaches at the Division I level.

Kansas' Kurtis Townsend once again heads our List of The Top 30 Assistant Coaches at the High Major Level after a one-year hiatus (Rick Stansbury took the spot a year ago when he was an assistant coach at Texas A&M)  But otherwise there has not be much movement at the top of this list in recent years due to the lack of movement (i.e. Kenny Payne isn't going to leave the University of Kentucky, unless he can land a big time job; Jeff Capel is perfectly positioned to get the Duke job when Mike Krzyzewski retires, if the Blue Devils hire from within; and Mike Hopkins already is the heir apparent to Jim Boeheim, who is expected to retire after the 2017-18 season.  On the other hand, there are a few exceptions, like UCLA's David Grace and Connecticut's Dwayne Killings, both of whom have skyrocketed up the list this year, and Alabama's John Pelphrey, who has always been one the best in the business, but was out of coaching for a year after Billy Donovan left the University of Florida two years ago for the Oklahoma City Thunder job in the NBA.  We also don't want to forget about Butch Pierre, who would have had a top 10 spot on this list, if Mark Gottfried and his staff hadn't already gotten the ax at N.C. State.

Our Ranking of the Top 40 Assistant Coach at Schools Below the High Major Level includes some guys, like Portland's Bob Cantu, Florida Gulf Coast's Tom Abatemarco, Charlotte's Chris Ferguson, and Nevada's Dave Rice, who have been there and done that at the high Division I level and/or as Division I head coaches.  Cantu was a long time assistant coach at USC and ended up being the interim head coach during his last year with the Trojan.  Abatemarco was an assistant coach at N.C. State and later gained head coaching experience at Lamar, Drake, and Sacramento State.  Chris Ferguson has made stops as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech, Tennessee, and Oklahoma State.  Dave Rice was an assistant coach at UNLV and Brigham Young before later becoming the boss of the Runnin' Rebels.

And sandwiched in-between these guys are Quinnipiac's Sean Doherty, Cal-State Northridge's Chris Pompey, Iona's Jared Grasso, and Saint Louis' Van Macon. Quite honestly, we don't know what to do with Doherty, because he was the right hand man to Tom Moore, who recently got fired at Quinnipiac.  However, Doherty is one of the most astute guys in the business, is both a tireless recruiter and an excellent bench coach, and he's just too good at what he does to keep off this list.  Pompey is a phenomenal recruiter and he has been quietly laying foundation last several years for Reggie Theus to turn things around at Cal-State-Northridge.  Grasso has spent the last seven seasons as Tim Cluess' right hand man at Iona and the word on the street is that he might be line to return to his alma mater and become the next head coach at Quinnipiac.  Macon paid his dues coming up through the ranks with stops at Adelphi, Marist, Lafayette, SUNY-Farmingdale, Hofstra, and Rutgers and he it should only be a matter of time before Saint Louis starts to reap the benefit of his Northeast connections.

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP 60 HEAD COACHES IN THE COLLEGE GAME TODAY

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP 30 HEAD COACHES IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR CAREER (MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, BUT NOT MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE AT THE DIVISION I LEVEL), BUT ARE NOT INCLUDED ON THE ABOVE TOP 60 LIST

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP  30 UP & COMING HEAD COACHES (FIVE YEARS OR LESS AS A DIVISION I HEAD COACH)

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE 60 ASSISTANT COACHES AT THE HIGH MAJOR LEVEL

THE HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP 40 ASSISTANT COACHES AT SCHOOLS BELOW THE HIGH MAJOR LEVEL

One of the many things that separates the HOOP SCOOP from everybody else in the business is our unique ability to look at things and analyze them in a variety of ways.  And especially interesting is the fact that 39 of the 100 players listed on our just published 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams, which includes the top 100-ranked players nationally regardless of class and position, do not attend a private school, a Catholic School, or a basketball factory.  However, when we look at only the top 25-ranked players and the top 50-ranked players on this list, we find that six players, which is only 24%, fall into the first category, and 16 players, which is 32%, fall into the second category.  At first glance this leads us to believe that the better the player the more likely he is to transfer or enroll in another school in an attempt to pursue his basketball career.  And this theory is reinforced even further when we look at this same list from a year ago and find that only three of the top 25 players, which is just 12%; 10 of the top 50 players, which is just 20%; and 26 of the top 100 players, which is 26%, fall into this category.  So naturally we are little surprised by the fact that 39% of the players on our current list attend public schools when compared to a year ago to when that number was just over one-in-four of the top 100-ranked players.

We also think it is interesting to point out that our 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams includes four 5th Year Players, which by definition is somebody in their ninth semester or more of high school, 56 seniors, 25 juniors, 14 sophomores, and one 8th Grader.  However, it does not include 6'6 Hamidou Diallo from Putnam (Science) CT, who previously was our #1-ranked 5th Year Player, is good enough to be a top 10-ranked high school senior, and plans to enter the NBA Draft next spring after spending the rest of the current season at the University of Kentucky, and 6'10 Austin Wiley from Spain Park (Hoover) AL, who is a legit top 15-ranked senior nationally, but graduated from high school back in December and now appears to be exactly what the doctored to anchor the front line at Auburn University.  Diallo also is good enough to be included on the Second Team ahead of 6'7 Jr Zion Williamson from Spartanburg (Day) SC and Wiley would be included on the Fourth Team, along with players like 6'5 Gary Trent from Napa (Prolific Prep) CA, 6'7 P.J. Washington from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, and 6'9 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA.

This also a good place to make note of the fact that players are bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic, but they also are not as skilled and do not have the toughness and competitive edge that comes from learning how to play the game while playing on concrete in an outdoor highly competitive playground-like environment.  And, to make matters even worse, it also seems like all of the perimeter players want to be point guards and guys like 7'0 DeAndre Ayton from Phoenix (Hillcrest Academy) AZ, 6'11 Mohamed Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, 6'10 Billy Preston from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'9 Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace Academy) GA are the poster boys when we start talking about big men who lack a takeover mentality and/or want to spend entirely too much time handling the ball in transition, playing away from the basket, and knocking down jump shots.  On the other hand, the above mentioned players seem to be can get away with it right now, because they do have the size, athleticism, and potential necessary to achieve greatness and on their best day they clearly have to be ranked among best players in the Class of 2017.

However, these guys also should beware of the fact that the Class of 2019 is loaded and it promises to be best class to come down the pike in a long time, as is evident by the fact that 6'7 Soph R.J. Barrett from Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'10 Soph Vernon Carey from Ft. Lauderdale (University School) FL, 6'10 Soph Charles Bassey from San Antonio (St. Anthony Catholic) TX, 6'8 Soph Tristan Watford from Mountain Brook (H.S.) AL, 6'8 Soph Chandler Lawson from Memphis ((East) TN, 6'9 Soph Onyeka Okongwu from Chino Hills (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Soph Scottie Lewis from Triton Falls (Ranney) NJ, 7'1 Soph Chol Marial from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'4 Soph Cassius Stanley from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 5'11 Soph Tyger Campbell from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'9 Soph Patrick McCaffery from Iowa City (West) IA, 6'1 Soph Cole Anthony from Briarwood (Christ the King) NY, 6'4 Soph Bryan Antoine from Triton Falls (Ranney) NJ, and 6'3 Soph P.J. Fuller from Seattle (Nathan Hall) WA are all good enough right now to be included among the top 100 players nationally regardless of class and position and it's only a matter of time before many of them surpass most of the spoiled, pampered, and overhyped players in both of the Class of 2017 and Class of 2018.

Two guys that we don't look for anybody to surpass are 6'9 Michael Porter from Seattle (Nathan Hale) WA, who gets our nod as the #1-ranked player nationally in the Class of 2017 based on the fact that he's capable of putting up prolific numbers, is very adept at scoring in a variety of ways, and has developed much more of a takeover mentality on the boards in the last year, 6'10 Jr Marvin Bagley from Chatsworth (Sierra Canyon) CA, who is head-and-shoulders above everybody else in the Class of 2018 and has the size, athleticism, skills, and all of the intangibles necessary to be as good as he wants to be.  Another guy who deserves special mention and already has surpassed all of the players in the class ahead of him is 5'11 8th Grader Zion Harmon from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY.  Not only has been putting up prolific numbers and is already as good as anybody in the state right now, but he also finished ranked #23 in scoring with 17.0 ppg and #11 in assists with 4.4 apg last spring in the NIKE EYBL and he appears to be equally adept at playing either guard spot.

It also comes as no surprise that the state with the most players included among our 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams is California with 11 players on the aforementioned list.  However, you probably will be surprised that Florida is a strong second with 10 players, followed by Pennsylvania with seven; Indiana, Georgia, and New Jersey with six apiece; Texas with five; Illinois, Texas, Virginia, and Washington with four apiece; Nevada and Washington, DC with three apiece; Arizona, Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina, and Wisconsin with two apiece; and Arkansas, Connecticut, North Carolina, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Vermont with only one apiece.  We also think it is noteworthy to point out that 45 players on this list are still available.  However, the vast majority of those players are underclassmen, as a quick look at our list shows that 6'11 Mohamed Bamba from West Chester (Westtown School) PA, 6'3 Trevon Duval from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'1 Trae Young from Norman (North) OK, 6'8 Kevin Knox from Tampa (Catholic) FL, 6'7 Brian Bowen from La Porte (La Lumiere) IN, 6'1 Matt Coleman from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 M.J. Walker from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, and 6'7 Jordan Tucker from Marietta (Wheeler) GA are the only seniors still left on the board.  In contrast, the only underclassmen included among our 2017 HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams that have made an early verbal commitment to a four-year college or university are 6'6 Jr Joseph Wieskamp from Muscatine (H.S.) IA to the University of Iowa, 6'8 Jr Carte'Are Gordon from Webster Groves (H.S.) MO to Saint Louis, and 6'4 Jr Tyler Hero from Greenfield (Whitnall) WI to the University of Wisconsin.