Davis is the new top guy in the 2011 class

RUMINATIONS ON NO. 1

If you’d ambled through the streets of Chicago this past March and shouted at passersby that Anthony Davis would become a more celebrated recruit than Derrick Rose, undoubtedly you’d have been greeted with confused and angry looks.

But in fact, at least in terms of ranking, that’s exactly what transpired during the four months beginning in April and ending in July. Davis, the 6-9 big man from Perspectives School, throttled competition at the LeBron James events in early July and then dazzled crowds at the Peach Jam. Read story

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BIG EAST DELIVERING BIG NEWS

Could it finally be happening for Rutgers? After a decade of teases and near-misses on the recruiting trail, the Scarlet Knights are riding a new wave of progress under first-year coach Mike Rice.

Rutgers this week added both NY/CT BF Kadeem Jack and NJ PG Myles Mack, two of the best senior prospects within the immediate vicinity. Both Jack and Mack are national top-100 talents, and they’ll join other touted commitments from the 2011 and 2012 classes. Read story

Rankings & School Lists Select Item - Class Of - 2011 2012 2013 2010 2009 2009JC 2008 2008JC 2007 2007JC 2006 2006JC 2005 2005JC 2004 2003 2003JC 2002 2002JC 2001 2001JC      Anthony Davis is the pacesetter in the 2011 class. Check out our top-10 player rankings from the past. You'll recognize these names. Program Profiles Select Item HotList U      TimeTravel: 1980 Top Recruiting Classes Parade of Programs: Conference breakdown from the Recruiter's Handbook Video Exclusives Select Item NCAA Calendar      Event Calendar: PrepStars.com features a comprehensive event calendar, courtesy of the NCAA

NEW SENIOR RANKINGS: POST-SUMMER TOP 100!

Fast-rising Chicago big man Anthony Davis has become the new No. 1 in our national top 100, replacing Michael Gilchrist (who moves only one spot to No. 2), thanks to a huge summer and immense long-term potential.

Between Davis, Gilchrist and IN PG Marquis Teague, Kentucky claims three of our national top five seniors, an extraordinary recruiting feat even by John Calipari's extremely high standards. Elsewhere in the top five, No. 3 Austin Rivers is the best natural scorer in the class, while Florida-bound guard Brad Beal is one of the most complete young players in America. Read story

NEW UNDERCLASS RANKINGS:
CLASSES OF 2012, 2013

In our new look at the Class of 2012, Nevada wing Shabazz Muhammad has vaulted to the apex of his class. The athletic and tremendously tough and competitive athlete was by far th emost productive junior on the national circuit this past spring and summer. Meanwhile, we continue to believe that Connecticut insider Andre Drummond is the best of an excellent set of frontcourt prospects.

Taking an early look at the 2013 class, Texan Julius Randle continues to draw accolades as the best sophomore in the nation, but there definitely are some guys nipping at his heels. Take a look for yourself by following the links! 2012 Rankings 2013 Rankings

BURKE, OTHERS DELIVER PLEDGES
August 25, 2010

Michigan landed Trey Burke, a 5-11 PG at Columbus (OH) Northland who had a strong summer on the travel circuit. Formerly a Penn State commitment, Burke reopened in order to draw additional interest, and obviously the gambit paid off in terms of getting other high-major scholarship offers.

Burke is a good scorer and three-point shooter, and he should fit well into John Beilein’s system. He also had attracted offers from Cincinnati, Nebraska, Butler, Iowa and others. Read story

CAVALIERS GET TALENTED WING
August 23, 2010

Virginia made a nice late-summer pickup of Malcolm Brogdon, a 6-4 WG at Norcross (GA) Greater Atlanta Christian School. Brogdon enjoyed a very good summer and should help the Cavaliers’ improve their ability to score from the perimeter, and fitting UVa’s high academic profile also was no problem for this excellent student.

Brogdon isn’t a high-flier but shoots the ball well and has a solid frame for college. He should contend for a spot in the national top 100 in our upcoming post-summer rankings for the Class of 2011. Read story

CARSON, SULLIVAN MAKE DECISIONS
August 22, 2010

One of the nation’s best uncommitted point guards, AZ PG Jahii Carson, committed to Arizona State. Carson’s pledge to the Sun Devils certainly wasn’t unexpected, and he should do an outstanding job for Herb Sendek’s program.

Carson enjoyed a fine summer and stepped up his game in Las Vegas, where he was a pivotal player for one of the Compton Magic’s two teams (named The Magic) and scored on a variety of moves off the dribble and increasingly from deep. He’s a definite top-50 caliber talent in the Class of 2011. Read story

JOHNSON CHOOSES 'ZONA
August 19, 2010

Sean Miller is righting the ship quickly in Arizona. The Wildcats now have big-time AZ/NV combo guard Nick Johnson in the fold, one of the best wing scorers in the country and someone who enjoyed a big summer with the Oakland Soldiers this past July.

Johnson’s game is somewhat unique from the standpoint that he doesn’t create a lot off the dribble but is an explosive leaper and shooter who hits even when contested. We’d like to see him develop a tighter handle and slashing game, but he doesn’t have to always go forward because his jump shot (though streaky) has three-point range. Read story

MAJOR COMMITS (AND DE-COMMITS) PILE UP
August 17, 2010

It’s that time of year. The commitment season is beginning to pick up after a surprisingly dormant spring and summer, and the pace of pledges is likely to intensify as the official visit season draws near.

That said, the highest-ranked player in the news was CA WF DeAndre Daniels, who backed off his commitment to Texas. The Longhorns still have a great 2011 class even without Daniels, but obviously losing a blue-chip scorer with size and athleticism is a blow to the Horns. Read story

HOOSIERS GET ANOTHER PLEDGE
August 16, 2010

Indiana scored with rising junior guard Ron Patterson, capping what between the Hoosiers and Michigan State was a very good week for the Big Ten. IU is working on several major projects this fall, and Patterson was a major pickup. He’s an accomplished scorer who performed well against national competition (mostly 16-under) on the travel circuit this spring and summer.

Not only is Patterson a very good Class of 2012 talent, he’s an Indianapolis (Broad Ripple High) native and obviously someone in an area of great interest to the Hoosier program. Read story

DAVIS CHOOSES WILDCATS
August 14, 2010

Kentucky has landed its third top-five commitment from the Class of 2011, getting the nod from elite IL C Anthony Davis, who chose the Wildcats over Ohio State, DePaul and numerous other major programs in the process.

Davis burst onto the national scene in the spring and never looked back, improving at seemingly every event and now appearing to be potentially the top prospect in the senior class. We wrote about him extensively during the summer, and the sensational athlete will have the opportunity to become one of John Calipari’s next one-and-done studs. Read story

COSTELLO TO TAKE ACTION TO MSU
August 11, 2010

Michigan State is hammering things out on the recruiting trail these days. The Spartans obviously worked with extreme efficiency in July, seeing the right games at the right times and solidifying relationships to the extent they could extract multiple commitments in the two weeks following the summer evaluation period.

The latest is Matt Costello, the 6-8 junior BF at Bay City (MI) Western, who was outstanding during the summer for Dorian’s Pride. We first watched Costello at the Adidas Invitational in early July, and lived up to the advance billing we’d heard on his behalf. Read story

BEARS GET ELITE JUNIOR BIG MAN
August 10, 2010

The Baylor Bears made a huge score in the Class of 2012, getting an early pledge from top-10 big man Isaiah Austin. Austin is considered by some to be the best raw prospect in the junior class, as he has tremendous length and skill for a young player.

His best attributes tend to be coordination and his mere physical presence, and now the trick is to gain strength and become more of an inside-out performer. As he continues to mature he’ll have more ability to play with his back to the basket, and down the road he could put together a dynamic offensive game. Here are some video clips of his game: Read story

JURKIN COMMITS TO HOOSIERS
August 9, 2010

Indiana, in its continuing drive to upgrade the program’s talent level, made an investment in its longer term future. The Hoosiers picked up a commitment from Peter Jurkin, a 7-0 junior C at Charlotte (NC) United Faith who originally hails from the Sudan — of late a genuine hotspot for frontcourt talent.

Jurkin is an above-average athlete who runs the court well and is pretty fluid for a kid his size. He jumps pretty well with a running start and has improved his offense as well. The big concern with Jurkin is whether he’ll be able to gain the appropriate weight for the next level, particularly as he has skinny lower legs. Read story

ORANGE GET ELITE CENTER
August 6, 2010

Christmas came early ... ah, that’s too easy. Suffice to say that the Syracuse Orange are extremely happy to have received a commitment from blue-chip PA C Rakeem Christmas, one of the nation’s best senior big men and a proven talent against the highest level of prep competition.

Team Final has been good to SU the past couple years, sending not only Christmas and fellow 2011 pledge Trevor Cooney but also incoming freshman Dion Waiters. Read story

SPARTANS, OTHERS GET PLEDGES
August 5, 2010

Michigan State made one of its most significant wins it can make this recruiting cycle, getting a pledge from IN BF/WF Branden Dawson, a super athletic combo forward whose play got better and better during the course of the summer. Dawson is one of the strongest and most explosive players in the Class of 2011, and thanks to those qualities he’s a terrific finisher and offensive rebounder.

There’s definitely some positional confusion with Dawson because he’s small for the post yet not enough of a handler to play on the wing. Nevertheless, at least for college, his strength, leaping ability and relentless style should result in early and big dividends for the Spartans. Read story

ON RECRUITING, JOURNALISM, AND HACKERY
August 4, 2010

The Chicago Sun-Times published a story on Wednesday that at the beginning seemed innocuous: Elite senior forward Anthony Davis shortly would be announcing his college choice from among Kentucky, DePaul, Ohio State and Syracuse.

The story, viewable here — Sun-Times Davis Story — also states what many have believed for a few weeks: That Davis is likely to choose UK. From there, however, the story cites an anonymous source as saying that Davis-to-UK resulted from scandal. Read story

KNIGHTS LAND SOLID IN-STATE BIG MAN
August 2, 2010

Rutgers coach Mike Rice landed his first 2011 commitment for the Scarlet Knights, getting the nod from top-125 NJ BF Derrick Randall. Though the 6-8 Randall didn’t always play to his reputation during the summer for The Playaz, he remains a very solid rebounder and shotblocker with a solid frame and the ability to contribute early in the Big East.

In order for Randall to take the next step, he must improve his offensive game. Though not without close-range shooting touch and even the beginnings of a hook shot, his footwork requires a great deal of attention. Nevertheless, he understands that he’s a big guy — and not an aspiring wing — and has the physical talent to blossom at the next level. Read story

ORLANDO: DAY FOUR REPORT
July 31, 2010

ORLANDO — On Friday we saw all or major portions of 13 different games at the AAU National Championships, with 10 being 17U playoff games and the other three (including the championship and third-place games) coming from the 16U division. The 10 best performances we saw today are detailed below, in chronological order.

Leading the Jackson Tigers (MS) to a hard-fought 61-56 overtime victory over Martin Bros Select 17s (IA) was uncommitted 6-9 Cleveland (MS) East Side rising senior BF/C Johnny O’Bryant. The solidly built 230-pounder stepped up big in the final minutes of regulation and the overtime and certainly is a national top 30 caliber prospect in the high school Class of 2011. Read story

ORLANDO: DAY THREE REPORT
July 30, 2010

ORLANDO — At the AAU National Championships, this was a big day for the playoffs in both the 17-Under and the 16-Under tournaments. With the 16s being (in our opinion) fairly weak in elite caliber talent, our focus today was upon the 17-Under division. We saw all or a significant part of 13 games, with the leading performers in seven of them discussed below.

In the first of St. Louis Gameface’s two victories on Thursday, blue-chip 6-3 Florissant (MO) McCluer North rising senior WG/PG B.J. Young had two crucial turnovers late in regulation play but bounced back in overtime to virtually personally defeat Alabama-based NLP 17U Ds by a 58-53 count. Read story

ORLANDO: DAY TWO REPORT
July 29, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. — With games played all day at 39 different courts, we had our hands full on day two while watching all or part of 13 pool-play games in the AAU 17U National Championships and approximately half of the round of 16 in the AAU 16U National Championships.

There were few truly outstanding performances that we witnessed, thus we’ve elected to focus below upon key players in a half-dozen of the 17U games and two of the 16U playoff games. Read story

SUPER SHOWCASE FINALE
July 28, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla. - We hit the ground running and were present for the Super Showcase 17U Gold Bracket championship game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports venue.

This game was actually a rematch between the St. Louis Eagles and Florida-based Each One Teach One (also known as Team Stat), who faced each other in mid-June on the final afternoon of the NIKE Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) session in Virginia (Hampton). Read story

VEGAS: FINAL THOUGHTS
July 27, 2010

The party is over in Las Vegas, and the Adidas Super 64 wrapped up with the Double Pump Elite team defeating the Memphis Magic Select in the championship contest.

We covered many of the prominent names throughout the week of coverage, but here are a few more points of interest as the focus now shifts toward Orlando to round out the July evaluation period. Read story

VEGAS WEEK: DAY FOUR REPORT
July 25, 2010

LAS VEGAS — Day 4 in Las Vegas was the final day of the Fab 48 and a key day for the playoffs (through the quarterfinals) at the Adidas Super 64. We viewed a total of 11 games, with five being Adidas playoff games and the other six being Fab 48 games, including three 17U Championship bracket quarterfinals and the title game in that division.

At the Fab 48, the Drew Gooden Soldiers proved to be the dominant team, only being challenged (84-80) by the New Jersey Playaz in the semifinals. Read story

VEGAS WEEK: DAY THREE REPORT
July 24, 2010

LAS VEGAS — In our third day in Las Vegas, we divided time between the Adidas Super 64 and the Las Vegas Fab 48, which each featured playoff games in the afternoon and evening. We viewed all or most of 10 different games, and the highlight performances we witnessed are discussed below.

This wasn’t a day for the faint of heart, as the games were particularly fierce and several fights and near-fights resulted. Read story

VEGAS WEEK: DAY TWO REPORT
July 23, 2010

LAS VEGAS — With only two major events (the Adidas Super 64 and Dinos Trigonis’ new Fab 48) to cover in Las Vegas this July, it’s much easier to see the players and travel teams whose progress you wish to monitor. We really got an eyeful particularly on the second day, when we viewed all or at least significant parts of eight different games at the Adidas Super 64.

Here are the guys whose stellar play especially caught our attention. Read story

VEGAS WEEK: DAY ONE REPORT
July 22, 2010

LAS VEGAS — The first day of the five-day hoops affair in Las Vegas took place on Thursday, and we spent our time at the loaded Adidas Super 64. The Super 64 has become a mainstay on the travel circuit and is joined this year by the Fab 48, which we’ll be watching extensively this week and weekend as well.

We spent most of Thursday fine-tuning some rough edges, watching teams we’d mostly seen previously this month but still had lingering questions in our own minds that needed to be answered. We also saw a couple elites who’d been out of action this month until now. Read story

INTEREST IN THOMAS PICKS UP
July 20, 2010

One of the nation’s more overlooked high-major wings is Aaron Thomas, the 6-4 WF at Cincinnati (OH) Aiken who tours the travel circuit with the Queen City Prophets.

Playing at the Peach State Showcase last week in Aiken, S.C., Thomas showcased the scoring ability that enabled him to first emerge upon the national scene this past spring. Read story

NOTES FROM THE ROAD
July 19, 2010

We’re at the midway point of the July evaluation, the first leg of which concluded late last week. The live period — defined as the stretch when college coaches are allowed to watch players perform at tournaments and camps — resumes on Thursday.

The second half of July largely consists of action in Las Vegas and Orlando, but before shifting focus to those major events, let’s take a look at some of the lessons learned thus far. Read story

PEACH JAM: FINAL REPORT
July 15, 2010

Team Takeover won the prestigious Peach Jam Classic on Thursday, defeating the St. Louis Eagles in the final. Takeover wasn’t the most talented team at the event but played consistent, disciplined basketball to survive and advance, triumphing in Nike’s first ever Elite Youth Basketball League.

We spent our final time in the Augusta area actually split between the Peach Jam and the competing Peach State Summer Showcase, a non-shoe event held in nearby Aiken, S.C. Read story

PEACH JAM: STUDS EDITION
July 14, 2010

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — The completion of pool play at the Peach Jam welcomed the return of Nike’s circuit’s elite players, and their presence on the court definitely was felt. For one thing we witnessed one of the 2010 travel circuit’s signature performances, as delivered by No. 1 senior prospect Michael Gilchrist.

Gilchrist essentially jumped off a plane that arrived from Germany — where he’d been competing international for USA Basketball — and turned a 9:00 a.m. tip into a personal highlight reel. Read story

PEACH JAM: DAY ONE REPORT
July 12, 2010

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — No tournament taking place this summer can boast the build-up and organization of the Peach Jam. Representing the culmination of Nike’s grassroots circuit, The Elite Young Basketball League, the Peach Jam is a four-day event featuring 24 of Nike’s best teams, five rounds of pool play and playoff rounds beginning on Wednesday evening.

While there is much to report from the first day of action, things will intesify as the week progresses into the playoff rounds. Read story

BRICK'S CORNER: CLEVELAND RECAP
July 12, 2010

At the Nike-sponsored King City Classic in Cleveland, we eyeballed a full slate of games while also viewing two afternoon sessions of the Super Soph Camp, also in Cleveland. Below are our choices as the most impressive nine players at the King City Classic, with the top four being big men, including a pair of precocious rising juniors.

We've examined these four players in rank order. Read story

BRICK'S CORNER: ADIDAS RECAP
July 12, 2010

Last week we watched two days of play at the Adidas Invitational in Indianapolis, two days at the Nike-sponsored King City Classic in Cleveland, and two sessions of Clay Dade’s Super Soph All American Camp, also in Cleveland.

Below are capsules on those responsible for eight of the most impressive game performances we viewed at the Adidas Invitational, whose 17 Under Platinum division was won by the Dallas Mustangs over the New Heights NYC aggregation. Read story

ADIDAS INVITATIONAL: DAY TWO REPORT
July 7, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS —The second day of action at the Adidas Invitational was affected by an NCAA rule, and in a positive manner. Because teams can play only five times in consecutive days and due to the fact that most 17-under clubs played three games on the first day, that opened up more time slots to watch underclassmen.

And watch them we did. The Class of 2012 continues to impress us with its abundance of frontcourt high-majors, and we were able to add to that mix of players. Read story

ADIDAS INVITATIONAL: DAY ONE REPORT
July 6, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS — The inaugural Adidas Invitational features a combination of players who in years past had been scattered between the It Takes 5ive tournament in Cincinnati and the Reebok All-American Camp. But with the demise of Reebok’s event, some of those would-have-been campers now are competing with Reebok’s sister company Adidas.

Day one was high in talent and also high in uniqueness. Each pool was only three-teams deep, and playoffs actually began on the first day of action! In order to conclude the event at a reasonable time on the 8th, Adidas had to stuff a great deal of action into the opening day. Read story

UPDATED RANKINGS!

Just prior to the opening of the summer evaluation period for college coaches (on July 6), we wanted to update our rankings and school lists for each of the most relevant classes. The obvious focus for many will be on the rising senior Class of 2011, where Michael Gilchrist retains his place atop the national chart. Meanwhile, Andre Drummond leads the way in the 2012 class.

Just click on the links below or follow the rankings and school lists link on the left sidebar to see the latest! Class of 2011; Class of 2012; Class of 2013

JULY HOOPS SIZZLE
July 5, 2010

THE RECRUITING TRAIL - College basketball recruiting grabs the spotlight during the next few weeks at showcase events throughout the country. During the vital time frame, PrepStars.com will continue to monitor prospect performances to help our readership make sense of the recruiting game.

Heading into the crucial evaluation period, two Class of 2011 prospects have caught our eye. Dealing from the perimiter, backcourt floor general Quinn Cook, 6-0 PG Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill, and Ivory Coast 6-9 C Adjehi Baru will continue to be tracked on radar. Catch them in action in our video exclusive. Read story

FINAL TEAM RANKINGS FOR 2010 CLASS
June 28, 2010

Though there are a small handful of decisions from the incoming freshman class of 2010, for the most part the team rankings are finalized for the upcoming season. The one caveat to that is the inevitable attrition due to academic problems, but we won’t have those answers until late summer.

At the top, Kentucky’s dynamic spring under John Calipari vaulted the Wildcats into first place. Read story

POYTHRESS READY FOR JULY
June 24, 2010

We first saw rising junior Alex Poythress at the Tournament of Champions over Memorial Day. Word had it he was a major talent, and certainly our assessment of him there agreed with those early reports. Playing with the Nashville Celtics, the 6-7 WF/BF at Clarksville (TN) Northeast was a dominant factor against the strong CP3 All-Stars.

Poythress made his next national stop at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp, which took place last weekend. His scoring output there wasn’t up to the pace he’d set for himself at the TOC, but he did contribute as a rebounder and defender, and his offense improved as the camp progressed. Read story

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