Hold’n Court: The HoopGroup Blogs

The Hoop Group brought the Top 100 Tour to Brooklyn and the Aviator Sports and Recreation Center last Tuesday.  Everyone in attendance got a preview of who some of the top teams in New York will be this year.

Boys and Girls HS may have been the runner-up in the PSAL last season, but it is easy to see why many people consider them the favorite this season and possible Top 25 team in the nation.  The Kangaroos will be led by their senior trio of shooting guard Patrick Jackson, wing forward David Imes and point guard Clayton Sterling, all of whom where outstanding in action on Wednesday night.  One of the ‘Roos biggest strengths will be their depth.  Senior lead guard Chris Harris and senior scorer Brandon Romain will aid in the backcourt while senior Garfield Hinds, senior Cyril Reid, senior Ryan Watson and junior Tyler Young will bring size and controls the boards for Ruth Lovelace’s squad.

Thomas Jefferson will also be a team to follow this year.  Junior playmaker Kashawn Bowe was very impressive using his quickness to get to the basket all night long.  Sophomore wing Joel Wright and sophomore combo guard Dave Coley will provide a definite boost in the scoring department and give the Orange Wave a bright future.

Speaking of a bright future, Adelphi Academy’s future may be as bright as anyone’s in the city.  The freshman triumvirate of Derrick Randall, Daniel Thompson and Kervin Rameau didn’t back down from anyone and played beyond their years.  Randall, a 6’7” post, displayed great touch around the basket.  The 5’9” Thompson was the quintessential point guard – running his team, distributing the basketball and scoring at opportune moments.  Rameau, a 6’3” wing, had a few moments that made people say to themselves, “He’s a freshman?”  I’m sure talented junior wing Lamont Samuels is happy to have these youngsters around.

Another team to be reckoned with is Wadleigh.  Coach Mike Crump’s squad was well represented by 6’5” wing Curtis Loving, 6’5” scorer William Harrison, 6’4” athlete Phyllip Jordan and 6’4” wing Terrence Henderson.  Loving is a strong, versatile wing who has the chance to become a lock down defender and impact player at the next level.  Not many people have the knack for scoring like Harrison, who seems to always be in the right spot.  Jordan is a super athlete.  The best play of the night was an underhanded alley-oop from Loving to Jordan – who came flying down the lane for the slam. 

Other impressive players at the event included:

6’7” Jr. Anali Okoloji – Benjamin Banneker

6’7” Sr. Jermaine Braumiller – Bishop Ford

6’6” Sr. Anthony Johnson – Kennedy HS

6’6” Sr. Cadeem St. Aubyn – Cardoza HS

6’5” Jr. James Frazier – Elizabeth HS

5’11” Jr. Sammy Haigler – Bishop Ford

6’2” Jr. Andre Armstrong – Forest Hills

Haverford College was the place to be on September 27th as the best players in the Philadelphia Metro area came to showcase their talents at the Philadelphia Top 100 in front of more than 40 college coaches and recruiting services.  The group was led by the Morris Twins, Marcus and Markieff (Apex Academies, Cherry Hill NJ) who showed why they are among the more sought after recruits in the country right now. 

Other future Division 1 talents included 6-5 senior guard Wes Kirkland (Roman Catholic, Philadelphia, PA), 6-7 junior forward Ligah Thompson (Monsignor Bonner, Drexel Hill, PA), 6-4 junior guard Jermaine Marshall (Red Land HS, Lewisberry, PA), 6-7 junior forward Ryan Regis (Apex Academies, Cherry Hill, NJ), 6-6 sophomore forward Octavious Booker (Simon Gratz, Philadelphia, PA), 6-4 sophomore wing Travis Robinson (Penn Charter, Philadelphia, PA) and 6-7 sophomore forward Steele Davis (Northeast Prep, Philadelphia, PA).
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The event was really carried by a strong group of over 60 seniors who might not play at North Carolina or Florida, but would be great at smaller Division 1 programs or the Division 2 and Division 3 levels.  They included:
Jon Kohler - Bordentown Regional, Bordentown, NJ
Rob Siter - Monsignor Bonner, Drexel Hill, PA
Ronnie Benson - Souderton HS, Souderton, PA
Jarrod Denard - Friere Charter, Philadelphia, PA
Shane Irwin - Neumann Goretti, Philadelphia PA
Clark Hindelang - Wildwood Catholic, Wildwood, NJ
Simon O’Leary - Lancaster Catholic, Lancaster, PA
David Williams - Apex Academies, Cherry Hill, NJ
John Boyd - Perkiomen Valley, Collegeville, PA
Pat Kelly - Wildwood Catholic, Wildwood, NJ
Joe Meehan - St. Joe’s Prep, Philadelphia, PA
For more info on EIBC’s Fall Top 100s you can visit http://www.hoopgroup.com/hoopgroup/hg_recaps.php

Yes, we admit it. We are old school. The senior year of high school was the culmination of the high school career. You practice and prepare for it, as it is the last year and you are ready for big things. While the excitement and thrill of going for a state title remain, unfortunately, now the way things are in the recruiting world for the high major player, it means little in terms of recruiting.

We have written and talked many times about how the whole recruiting process is on fast forward. Well that process has sped into overdrive. As of October 1, over a month before practice even starts, 70 of Rivals.com Top 100 seniors in the country are already committed. In New Jersey, 9 of NJ Hoops Top 10 from the Class of 2008 are committed.

The shift has created an even greater emphasis on summer play in camps and AAU and to a lesser extent, the high school junior season. The college coaches spend July evaluating prospects, return to campus and work to get recruits to visit campus and hopefully get the commit.

This trend is somewhat less prevalent for the lower Division 1 player, but for the very elite player the pressure is on to make the college choice.

There are a few exceptions where top seniors stay open until after their senior campaigns, have big years and see their recruiting blowup. But that is very rare. Former Seton Hall Assistant Coach and current Christian Brothers Academy Head Coach Geoff Billet comments: “Usually the only high major players left in the spring are kids who have academic and eligibility issues. If they have good grades they are almost always gone by the time their senior year starts.”

The advantages of the early commitment are that the high school senior has a weight lifted off his shoulders from the recruiting anxiety and can enjoy his senior year focusing on his game and schoolwork.

One unfortunate outcome of the shift is that there will be more transfers down the road. Coaches may not have enough opportunities to get a proper evaluation. The number of Division 1 transfers has risen in recent years and expect that trend to accelerate also.

Steve Keller publisher of the National Recruiting Report sees an additional drawback: “It’s a bad thing because the chances they have really gotten a chance to study the school they have committed to are few. They haven’t seen the team play, or the freshman play for that matter. One of the freshmen may be a phenom and where they thought they may step right in, their playing time may be limited. In addition the coach may move on. Have they spent enough time getting a feel for campus life, team chemistry and the coaches? They are only getting half the picture because they haven’t seen the season. They may commit to school A, because they don’t think they’ll play much at school B. But something may happen during that year that in actuality there may be more playing time available at School B.”

Frequently the only top line players left after their senior season are those that made commitments but saw a coaching change at their college choice and re-opened their recruiting. A good illustration of that was Dan Werner of CBA, Class of 2006, who made an early choice for North Carolina State. Werner had a terrific senior season, and when NC State Coach Herb Sendek left for Arizon State, Werner re-opened his recruiting. At that point many of the top schools in the country, including Florida and Kentucky pursued him hard and Werner ended up at Florida.

There have been a few players in recent years who committed to high level schools after their senior season, Paul Gause at Seton Hall and Eugene Lawrence at St. John’s are two examples that come to mind. But there was not a huge high level recruiting battle for their services. Both of them basically had only one offer at that level, but that was a higher offer than they had the before the season.

The one guy from the NY/NJ metro area who was extremely highly recruited and took his time and waited to make his choice was Lance Thomas who went from St. Benedict’s to Duke. Thomas was a top 100 kid, who took his time and waited until the spring to announce for the Blue Devils over Rutgers and Arizona.

If you are not being recruited heavily by big time schools before your senior season, the odds are extremely rare you will be afterwards. Enjoy the season anyway, it is your final year of high school and will never come around again. Keller comments: “There are some players that blow up during the senior season. There will be opportunities in the spring. It may not be for the cream of the crop, the top 200 kids, but college coaches will still be calling in January to see who’s left.”

njhoops.com