May 2009

RISING STARS AAU PROGRAM UPDATE

Illinois-based program deep with talent for Summer of ’09 AAU circuit

Earlier this week Doug Ferguson received a detailed update on the Rising Stars 17-U AAU team from CEO Michael Weinstein as they prepare for a busy summer season. The Deerfield (IL)-based program which operates out of the Joy of the Game center, has a record of 28-7 this spring, reaching the Final Four in both the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and the King James Shooting Stars Classic.

Heading into the summer action, the Rising Stars will be led by Ohio State-commit Lenzelle Smith, a 6-foot-4 combo guard that is tough and physical.

An area of strength for the Rising Stars is on the wings where they have a pair of shooters who are among the best the class of 2009 has to offer.

Alex Rossi of New Trier High School in Winnetka (IL) has had an excellent spring run on the AAU circuit. Coach Weinstein refers to Rossi as a “top five shooter in the country” on the wing. Notre Dame has offered a scholarship as have Cal, Iowa, Northwestern and Davidson with school such as Stanford, Penn State, FSU, Miami Florida, Virginia, Arizona State, Boston College, Nebraska and Vanderbilt showing interest.

Mundelein (IL) High School shooting guard Ben Brust has still been rounding into form after missing much of the high school season with a broken leg. The 6-foot-2 guard is known as a shooter, but his athletic ability is very underrated. Brust has seen some Big East interest in the past, he current has scholarship offers from Iowa, Northwestern, Davidson, Butler, Bradley and Southern Illinois.

Big men are always in high demand and the Rising Stars have one of the class of 2010′s fast rising big men in Jordan Threloff. The 6-foot-10, 255-lb center has a scholarship offer from DePaul as well as from many of the top mid-major programs in the Midwest. Many in the Big 10 and Cal are also recruiting the DeKalb (IL) High School ‘true five man’ as his AAU coach referred to him as.

DePaul has also shown interest in Centennial High School of Champaign (IL) Rayvonte Rice. The brickhouse built 6’4, 230-lb guard has been coveted by many at the mid-major level and has many scholarship offers. Now schools like Penn State, Boston College, Iowa and Indiana, in addition to the Blue Demons, have been taking an interest in Rice.

Rossi’s high school teammate at New Trier, 6-foot-10 F/C Fred Heldring is another key member of the Rising Stars. Heldring is starting to see some additional high-major attention in his recruiting of late.

Expect more schools to be taking a look at the Rising Stars on the summer circuit as Michael Weinstein’s team has uncommitted players that college coaches covet: shooters and big men. Add in the toughness and production at the guard position that Rayvonte Rice offers, it is pretty clear that many college coaches will be looking in the direction of the Rising Stars this July.

This Week’s Featured Ticket Deals:

Stanley Cup Final Tickets

Best NBA Playoff Ticket Deals

Best New York Yankees Ticket Deals

Best Philadelphia Phillies Ticket Deals

Best Boston Red Sox Ticket Deals

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/29/2009)

Well, before you head off for your weekend of fun, we have a round of Big East News and Notes to share with the readers. Some very good UConn scoop courtesy of Courant beat writer Mike Anthony today, some NBA draft analysis from the Chicago combine as well as stories on Luke Harangody, DeJuan Blair and Dante Cunningham today. A recruiting update can be found on elite 2010 prospect Brandon Knight as well as recently de-committed Aaron Craft, but the Big East isn’t likely to be able to sway this Ohio prospect. Also today a look at Dan Jennings and his long road to WVU where he will be reunited with Devin Ebanks, although that reunion might not be too long…

Also, I have been working hard on our summer event coverage schedule. We have a lot of great stuff planned if we can pull it all together that should make for a fun summer. If anyone wants to help NBE Basketball you can always visit our Donate to NBE page. Our writers, scouts and contributors but forth a lot of effort and we can see it is appreciated as we have averaged over 30,000 unique visitors a month the last three months, thank you!!

Read on for today’s news and notes…

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MEMORIAL WEEKEND LOOKBACK: TOC PLAYER NOTES

By PAT STEVENS — With Bob Gibbons’ Tournament of Champions in North Carolina and the Nike Memorial Day Classic in Georgia, this past weekend served as the third weekend of tournaments with truly national fields of competition during this two month old spring season.

Here’s a look back at the TOC on who’s establishing themselves as the nation’s top prospects and how the Big East is involved…

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CLASS OF 2011 INTRO: TAVON SLEDGE

Speedy point guard takes game to Long Island Lutheran next year

There is a popular saying in sports: Speed Kills. Tavon Sledge is a basketball player with speed to burn. As a sophomore with the powerful St. Benedict’s program, NBE saw this speed first hand on several occasions in the past season, leaving us more impressed each time.

The 5-foot-9, 158-pound speedball also showed that his athleticism and competitive streak gives him the confidence to ‘slam on you’ as witnessed at the DC Assault ‘Take Your Best Shot’ AAU event back in April.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/28/2009)

In today’s News & Notes there are some player evaluations from last week’s Gym Rat Challenge in Albany (NY) that Big East fans will find relevent as several possible Big East targets were in action. Elsewhere, the situation with Jarrid Famous is still unclear and just as confusing as a day ago. Louisville sees another of their 2010 verbal commitments become open again. There is a recruiting update on Dante Holmes as well as NBA Draft process updates on Paul Harris and Luke Harangody and a good Q&A on USF star Dominique Jones for readers today.

Read about all this below…

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CLASS OF 2010 INTRO: JERIAN GRANT

Jerian is latest from basketball power family to star at DeMatha Catholic

The Grant family is very well known to many basketball fans across the country. In the mid-80′s, a pair of brothers caught the attention of the nation with their on-court prowess. Identical twins Horace and Harvey Grant were carving out quite a basketball resume starring at the collegient level. Horace was the 10th overall selection in the 1987 NBA Draft after a tremendous career at Clemson. He would play 17 years in the NBA, scoring nearly 13,000 points and win four NBA championship rings, including being part of the Chicago Bulls three-peat of the early 90′s.

Twin brother Harvey was starring at the University of Oklahoma after leaving Clemson earlier in his carrer. Harvey would be the 12th pick of the 1988 NBA Draft and spend 11 seasons playing in the NBA, scoring nearly 8,000 points in his career.

Harvey, who played several of his NBA seasons with the (then called) Washington Bullets still resides in the DC-area and serves as an assistant coach for the junior varsity basketball team with DeMatha Catholic High School. He is also keeping a close eye on the next generation of Grant basketballers.

The oldest of Harvey’s four sons is 6’8 forward Jerai, who just finished up his sophomore season with the Clemson Tigers. Jerai was part of Dematha’s 2007 WCAC championship squad. The 2009 DeMatha Catholic team also captured the WCAC title and another Grant was instrumental as Jerian Grant is the next basketball star in the family tree.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/27/2009)

Not a ton going on around the Big East this morning, but some interesting stories nonetheless. Leading off is a developing situation involving Jarrid Famous and his commitment to USF. It looks like Famous is being pulled in a couple different directions as his JUCO coaches are saying he wants out of his LOI while his father insists he will be playing for the Bulls. We will watch this story unfold…

Elsewhere, Jim Boehiem isn’t fretting over personnel losses to the professional ranks, he has high praise, VERY high praise, for incoming frosh pointguard Brandon Triche. Also today, an update on the Big East Tournament format, Jim Calhoun talks business and hoops with UConn fans, Roscoe Smith is a 2010 small forward in very high demand and another of 2009′s top prospects left uncommitted made a decision and will not be coming to the Big East to play college ball.

Read about it below…

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/26/2009)

Hope all our readers had a nice Memorial Day weekend! Of course, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and once again the summer will bring exciting action on the basketball court throughout the country. In June a couple of our favorite events will remain the Rumble in the Bronx at Fordham and the NBA Top 100 camp at the University of Virginia. This weekend NBE should also be able to spend some time covering the NY2LA Invitational on the Marquette campus and we also look forward to covering Hoop Group Metro Summer Showcase and other events throughout the next month leading up to what will definitely be an exciting July as the college coaches will hit the evaluation trail like caged animals being released from captivity after the NCAA did away with the April evaluation period.

Today in our News & Notes update, it is chock full of recruiting lists found around the web. There are lists from dozens of players and everyone will find something of interest with their program today. Also, a look at some of the NBA draft workouts of Jonny Flynn and an impressive Paul Harris, an update on the Jio Fontan situation and ESPN.com runs through the 2009 Big East recruiting classes…

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CLASS OF 2010 INTRO: FABRICIO DE MELO

Native of Brazil makes a name quickly for himself in recruiting circles

by JEFF BORZELLO

In this internet-centric era, when highly-touted basketball prospects are covered incessantly from the time they are in middle school until they finally announce their college destination, it is not often that a player of Fabricio de Melo’s caliber flies under the radar.

However, that is exactly what happened with ‘Fab Melo’, who did not become a household name until the past couple of months.

Originally from Brazil, the 7-foot, 260-lb. Melo arrived at Sagemont Academy (Fla.) before last season. He had family in Hispanic-heavy southern Florida, and after much deliberation between Fab and his family, they settled on Sagemont.

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CSI: TWIN FALLS (ID)

The College of Southern Idaho has several high-major prospects

BY JEFF BORZELLO

It was only a decade ago when Steve Francis and Shawn Marion were each selected within the first nine picks of the 1999 NBA Draft. Both Francis and Marion were junior college products who played only one year of Division-I basketball before turning pro.

Since then, though, it seems that the number of talented junior college products becoming impact Division-I and professional players has decreased tremendously.

The College of Southern Idaho, however, is continuing to buck the trend.

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CLASS OF 2011 INTRO: SHABAZZ NAPIER

New England prep schooler turning heads this spring by scorching the nets

By Zach Smart

Amherst, Mass.–The Metro Boston Select AAU were winning, but Shabazz Napier wasn’t happy.

A team that should have jumped out of the gates sizzling, Metro Boston was playing down to the level of their opponents–a less talented Rhode Island Hawks squad in 17U action.

Metro Boston was going through the motions, looking lackadaisical and out of sync during the beginning of the first half. It was a typical AAU Saturday at the campus of Amherst College and Holyoke Community, part of the BasketBull Spring Classic.

Most of Boston Metro’s early chemistry problems were residual effects of a patchwork group that’s been playing in different systems throughout the spring and winter.

“It wasn’t really flowing for us,” said Napier. “Ike (Azotam), one of our best players, got in a little late and we were all kind of rusty.”

Then, Napier–a 5-foot-10 point guard– channeled his anger by scorching the nets.

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BELLY OF THE BE-AST: ‘MELO EDITION

by Ray Mernagh

The first time I saw Carmelo Anthony play he was 18-years old and I knew he would be a fantastic pro. That’s not saying a lot as everyone on the planet — save Joe Dumars — recognized the same thing. The second time I saw him was his only year at Syracuse against Pitt. The Panthers were extremely physical with him and limited his output the best they could for the duration of that game. I remember sitting down before the game started and the man sitting next to me asking me “who’s the great freshman ‘Cuse is supposed to have?” I answered “it’s that kid in the headband and this will be the only time you see him here because he’ll be the number two pick in the draft next summer,” — damn Dumars!

As I explained Anthony had sort of an up and down game. With about ten minutes left the guy leaned over and said “he’d better come back to school because he’s definitely not ready for the NBA.” Not more than a minute later ‘Melo beat his man from the wing on the dribble, spun to avoid the double team and laid the ball up on the other side of the basket to avoid the block. He did all of that while getting fouled and showing an incredible mixture of quickness, athleticism and a quality that can only be described as smooth. I leaned back over and said “he’s ready.”

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/22/2009)

Many of our readers are already on the road ready to enjoy the long holiday weekend. The NBE Basketball Report and all of our staff wish that everyone enjoys their Memorial Day festivities and travels safe this weekend. We thank everyone for their continued support of our website and we are sure everyone is ready for the upcoming summer schedule to get rolling!

Today we take a tour through the Big East and it is somewhat of an abbreviated ensemble of news and notes. We start with Rutgers who is still trying to figure out what to do at point guard next year and the staff promises to leave no stone unturned looking from within as well as continuing to look outside for help. James Beatty and Jio Fontan status updates are included as well. Cincinnati looks to ave a better handle on their point guard position for next season. West Virginia’s Bob Huggins is focused on winning, DePaul is finally focused on recruiting some local talent and the investigation into alleged recruiting violations at UConn moves along, slowly. Also, Doug Ferguson takes a stab at a mock NBA draft following the draft lottery of earlier this week.

We have some recruiting news and notes that will be coming throughout the weekend…so, in between the bar-b-que and picnics, stop and and see what is happening at NBE…

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CLASS OF 2010 STOCK RISER: DENZEL BRITO

Brito rising to the occasion this spring with NE Playaz

By Zach Smart

Amherst, Mass.–Denzel Brito‘s friends were out and about, scouring the UMass-Amherst and Amherst College campuses for girls and parties in the cool spring night.

Brito, a blossoming guard at Lawrence Academy, was staying with at a friend’s house in Amherst. The other members of Brito’s vaunted NE Playaz AAU squad were either staying at a nearby hotel or commuting.

“My friends who I was staying with wanted me to come out with them,” said Brito, a staple in the Playaz’ running game.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/20/2009)

We are kind of getting off track from our regular News & Notes postings, sorry, I will try and be better in that area.

Today is kind of a wrap-up of some of the news and notes that hgave been hanging around for a couple days. May is the slowest of months around college basketball, but still some worthwhile news to catch up on including recruiting updates on Marquis Teague, Dominique Ferguson, Chris Evans and Ja’Quon Parker. Also, USF sees another player leave and they are still looking at a potential incoming transfer. Mick Cronin is optimistic, Mike Brey hints at more Big East Tournament changes, Rutgers gets a head start on the 2009-2010 season, Scottie Reynolds continues his NBA audition and more can be found below today…

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REEBOK HEADLINER (CHICAGO) TRYOUT CAMP REVIEW

This past weekend Doug Ferguson spent the much of the weekend at the beautiful Attack Center in Chicago taking in the action of the Reebok Tryout Headliner camp. Mike Mullins of the Illinois Wolves was the point man of the camp and deserves kudos as the entire weekend was run very well.

Let’s take a look at 10 of the top players NBE caught in action over the course of Saturday and Sunday…

Anthony Shoemaker (Joliet (IL) HS/Class of 2010)
Shoemaker is still quite raw in some areas but he had one of the most complete offensive games at the camp. The 6-foot-7 small forwards was in the top few athletes on hand as well.

Jacob Williams (St. Patricks (Chicago) HS/Class of 2011)
If anyone was more athletic than Shoemaker it was possibly Jacob Williams. Williams showed great versatility inside and out. Thge exciting prospect is a ‘young Evan Turner’ according to Mike Mullins.

Williams told NBE he has offers from Illinois, Oregon, DePaul, Iowa State and schools such as Providence and Marquette are showing him interest out of the Big East.

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PLYMOUTH-WHITEMARSH DUO ON THE RISE

Class of 2010 C.J. Aiken and 2011 Jaylen Bond give P-M tough pair

The 2008-2009 Plymouth-Whitemarsh Colonials had a very successful season, winning their Suburban-One conference with a 13-1 record and finishing the season at 25-6, losing to Penn HS in the 4-A state semifinals, 64-56.

With a roster that included four juniors, four sophomores and a freshman, the 2009-2010 P-W hoops squad has the potential to do great things for coach Jim Donofrio. A pair of those players he will be counting heavily on in his frontcourt will be C.J. Aiken and Jaylen Bond.

C.J Aiken is an athletic big forward who averaged about 14 points, 10 rebounds a 7 blocks a game according to his coach. The class of 2010 prospect stands about 6-foot-8 and his lean and athletic frame currently holds about 185 pounds. Like most developing bigs, Aiken’s defense is certainly ahead of his offense.

“Defensively he is a serious presence in the paint and an exceptional shot blocker,” coach Donofrio informed NBE.

The offensive game is coming along and Aiken does have a variety of skills already, but mastering some moves and improving some fundamentals will help him become a more consistent offensive threat in the future.

“C.J. has to improve his overall core strength, as well as develop a couple of consistent ‘go-to’ shots in the post,” coach Donofrio said. “Lastly, he has three-point range ability, but must develop more consistency there as well, both off of the catch as well as dribble. Overall, C.J. has to raise his energy level one more notch and gain even more confidence in himself from an offensive perspective.”

College coaches definitely see the potential is there and schools from a variety of conferences have already extended scholarship offers.

“St. Joe’s, Temple and LaSalle are the most passionate, attending both games and workouts throughout the year,” said Donofrio when asked about Aiken’s recruitment.

The coach also indicated that West Virginia, Penn State, George Mason, Temple and St. Joe’s were in during a week in April to see a workout while Virginia Tech, Auburn, Siena, Florida, LaSalle and Virginia have been in touch.

When NBE stopped in earlier this month for some playoff action at the IS8 spring league, we really had no idea who to watch on the East Coast Elite. That feeling was quickly erased when we got a glimpse of Jaylen Bond.

Just finishing up his sophomore year of high school at P-M, Bond is a 6-foot-6, 205 pound forward who already looks like he could be playing in college physically. Bond had a presence on both ends of the court, inside and out, something coach Donofrio knows very well, too.

“He possesses a very powerful physique, so it is easy to simply want to anchor him inside,” coach Donofrio said. “But, he certainly possesses the natural talent and athleticism to become a combination post/wing player that can score and defend from anywhere on the court.”

As a sophomore, Bond added 11 points and 9 rebounds a game for the Colonials. In order to take his game to the next level, Jaylen is working to strengthen his perimeter skills.

“As a sophomore Jaylen brought a raw combination of power, agility, and explosiveness [to P-M],” said Donofrio.

Colleges are already aware of this specimen and many more will likely become interested as the summer recruiting period gets rolling come July.

“Jaylen drew initial interest from Virginia, Villanova and Florida State as early as last September,” according to his coach. “By the end of this summer I am sure that list will multiply greatly.”

According to Jaylen, that is already happening as the class of 2011 prospect told NBE at IS8 that he has offers from Temple, LaSalle, Florida State and Virginia with Memphis, Kansas, St. Joseph’s (PA), Florida, Villanova and West Virginia showing interest.

This Week’s Featured Ticket Deals:

NHL Playoff Ticket Deals

Best NBA Playoff Ticket Deals

Best New York Yankees Ticket Deals

Best Philadelphia Phillies Ticket Deals

Best Boston Red Sox Ticket Deals

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IS8 SEMIFINAL PLAYER REVIEWS

by Matt Whitfield

Here are some notes on individual players from Saturday’s action at IS8 where the semifinal games took place. It was the NJ Playaz (Sophs) edging out RISE while the NY Panthers got past the New Heights (Jrs) to set up the Sunday finale between the NY Panthers and Playaz. The loaded Panthers squad would take the 2009 IS8 Spring title on Sunday. Here are some player reviews and a couple recruiting notes…

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CLASS OF 2012 INTRO: DAJUAN COLEMAN

Coaches on the Prowl for fabulous upstate New York freshman big man already

By Zach Smart

Delving into DaJuan Coleman‘s rapid ascension to the upper echelon of nationally ranked big men, Syracuse Select Coach Shawn Pudney cuts himself off in mid-sentence.

“Did you see him two years ago?” Asks Pudney, stabbing me with a look as serious as Coleman’s overall recruiting package.

“He was terrible.”

A lack of grit and a game that was the polar opposite of aesthetically-pleasing plagued Coleman.

For those of you longtime hoop gurus, picture Stanley “Big Garbage” Roberts in his early days.

There was a search warrant out for Coleman’s passion.

“If you can believe this, he was actually a very passive kid. He was a kid who was almost embarassed about his size. He posted up with his hands in his pockets.”

Fast forward two years.

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CATCHING UP WITH JORDAN LATHAM

2010 Baltimore big man now open after Xavier coaching change

Last fall, NBE started to take note of a talented prospect in the city of Baltimore as Jordan Latham was starting to pull in interest from a variety of colleges from several conferences. The class of 2010 big man of City College High School was a promising mix of athleticism and length with a frame to add more strength in the coming years.

Playing with energy and an impressive motor, Latham was able to out produce a still developing skill set. However, before we could really get to know Jordan Latham, he made a commitment to Xavier and coach Sean Miller just prior to starting his junior season on the court.

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