We are hearing from a source that Zo will be put to work recruiting Saint Louis forward
David Lee when he comes onboard, that is if Lee is still around. Recent visits to
Duke and North Carolina went well, as he still mentions Missouri, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina,
Illinois and Florida. Zo's youth will definitely be a positive, as Lee recently
told Insider's Report he wants to be coached by someone close to his own age. Will an
assistant coach do? In the meantime, the team will be benefitting from Martin's status in
coaching limbo that allows him to work and play with the members of the team. [Insider's Report]
Another year of hearing the name Darius Manciel? After throwing out three to four dozen names
during his recruitment last year, 6-foot-10 Detroit big man Darius Manciel eventually verballed
to Texas Christian over Ohio State, Michigan and Xavier. Failing to qualify academically,
Manciel will now be off to Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts for a year, which will likely put
the same three dozens schools back on his recruiting trail. As of this point, no indication
as to whether he intends to back out of his verbal commitment to TCU.
BIG TEN UPDATE: THE Ohio State University has received a verbal commitment from class of 2001
point guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatum from Blackhawk HS, Beaver Falls, PA. Last season Fuss-Cheatum
averaged 22 points, seven assists and four steals per game for 32-1 Blackhawk.
June 27, 2000
John Standeford talks to the Indianapolis Star about his experiences with the Indiana All-Star
team. [Indianapolis Star]
A couple of homegrown underclassmen turned some heads at the Nike Hoops Jamboree, an
invitation only camp for talented rising juniors and sophomores. Lafayette Catholic's
Tyler Best was rated as the camp's fifth best big man by Van Coleman, and Oxford's
Blake Shoen, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, was rated fifth at his position. For comments on the
two players and a look at other outstanding underclassmen, follow this link... [FastBreak Recruiting]
Andre Patterson recently told Tobie Smith of the Wolverine he intends on playing in
California next year, but has yet to decide what school to attend. He currently lists Michigan
and UCLA as the top two, but did say Purdue was among the group of schools to call him last
week during the first week college coaches could contact rising senior players. Michigan,
Michigan State, UCLA, Oregon and Duke also made phone calls to Patterson. [The Wolverine]
June 26, 2000
The Indiana Boys All-Stars sweep of Kentucky was completed on Saturday with a 116-100 bruising
on Indiana's home court. Brett Buscher finished with eight points and four rebounds before
fouling out early in the second half. Buscher had four fouls in the first half alone, and
unfortunately picked up his fifth foul after starting the second with a string of offensive
plays. [Purdue Exponent]
June 25, 2000
The Indiana Girls All-Star team completed a sweep of Kentucky with a 89-82 victory. Shalicia
Hurns again led all scorers with 21 points, scoring 15 in the final nine minutes of the game.
She also has 11 rebounds for the game.
Austin Parkinson follows in his father's and grandfather's all-star footsteps...[Indianapolis Star]
Purdue signee Brett Buscher is flattered by comparisons to Brian Cardinal... [Journal and Courier]
June 23, 2000
The early buzz four years ago was that Andrean's Shane Power liked the Indiana Hoosiers and
he would end up talking longtime friend Brett Buscher into attending the same program. Then
Buscher made an early commitment to Purdue, and Power eventually came down to Purdue and
Iowa State before choosing to go west. This article illustrates just how plans can change,
and how the early wishes of two childhood friends often do not come to pass. [Indianapolis Star]
June 22, 2000
The Indiana Senior All-Star team defeted the Junior All-Stars 87-60 Wednesday behind a game-high
16 points from senior Shalicia Hurns. For the juniors, a trio of Purdue prospects played. Shyra
Ely and Jacqueline Batteast scored 10 and 14 points respectively, both finishing with a game-high
eight rebounds a piece. West Lafayette's Ebba Gebisa was scoreless in her attempts. [South Bend Tribune]
Even as loaded with talent as the Junior All-Star team is, they could not overcome the much
heralded Senior All-Star team on Wednesday in the north game of their annual scrimmage. Zach
Randolph led the seniors with 22 points, followed by Brett Buscher's 19. For the juniors,
recently-announced Purdue recruit Brandon McKnight had two points while Purdue football
recruit Brandon Jones had 10 with a pair of perimeter hits. The seniors defeated the juniors
118-86. Parkinson was in the game when the seniors took over, contributing six points, four
steals, four assists and no turnovers.
What has to be the most interesting article in a few weeks comes from our friend Russ Blake
over at JucoJunction. Russ recently talked with Seward County CC's Jason Robinson, a
6-foot-6 small forward who averaged 17 points and 4 rebounds last year for Seward County. In
the article, Jason's father Pete commented that Jason was really high on Purdue, but Purdue
"currently [does] not have a scholarship to offer his son." With the recent commitment of
Brandon McKnight, the Boiler have two scholarships rmaining for the class of 2001. The top
prospects for those scholarships seem to be big man Will Caudle, scorer Darmetreis Kilgore,
and a hopeful shot at David Lee. The staff also thinks they have a good shot at former
Fort Wayne Concordia forward Andre Patterson Jr., if he returns to the state next fall.
June 20, 2000
In the latest installment of "Point/Counterpoint", Steve and Capri each answer the question
"Will any incoming freshman start for the Boilers in 2000-2001?" [MrHoops Column]
June 18, 2000
The courts were full of athletes this past year. Not the basketball court. A court of law. Barry
Temkin reviews some of the good and bad from the past year in high school sports. [Chicago Tribune]
The Indiana Girls All-Star team is happy to show the "lesser" team is the better team. [Indianapolis Star]
June 16, 2000
Stanford picked up a great player in 2001 point guard Chris Hernandez yesterday. The 6-foot-1,
180-pound playmaker was Stanford's top point target, and Hernandez had been leaning in
their direction for a long time. Up until his decision, Hernandez was being recruited the
heaviest by Purdue, Southern Cal, UCLA and Utah.
June 15, 2000
Shalicia Hurns had 14 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in 19 minutes as the Senior All-Star
team defeated the juniors 98-85. [Indianapolis Star]
June 14, 2000
Purdue has received the first scholarship commitment for the class of 2001 from South Bend point
guard Brandon McKnight. The 6-foot-2 ultra-quick playmaker chose
the Boilers after touring campus with his parents. McKnight is seen as the state's second best
playmaker next to Indianapolis Pike guard Chris Thomas.
A scouting report on Providence-St. Mel's Lavar Seals... [Gibbons Report]
June 12, 2000
The profile page for the 2000 Indiana Girls All-Star team featuring Purdue signee Shalicia
Hurns. [Indianapolis Star]
The profile page for the 2000 Indiana Boys All-Star team featuring Purdue signees Brett
Buscher, Austin Parkinson and John Standeford. [Indianapolis Star]
June 2, 2000
Kentucky, Kansas and Duke are now getting involved with California junior point guard
Chris Hernandez. He still mentions Purdue, but the list is growing not reducing. [PacWest Hoops]
Jeremy Tiers reports that Purdue has shown interest in Chicago Marshall HS power forward
Kelly Whitney, a 6-foot-7 215-pound junior. High School Elite, a scouting service focusing
on Illinois prep basketball, rates Whitney as the 7th best prospect in the Illinois class of
2001, right behind Jason Straight, Levar Seals, Pierre Pierce and Roger Powell. Whitney was a
unanimous selection to the Bloomington Holiday Classic all-tournament team last winter, and
was seen as an impact player in the recent Tournament of Champions last weekend. [All Star Report]
Purdue received a visit first this week from Tyler JC forward Darmetreis Kilgore, followed by
a visit from South Bend LaSalle junior point guard Brandon McKnight along with his high school
coach. Purdue had scouted McKnight previously and was said to have come away undecided, but
now likes what they see and hopes to see more this summer. An AAU coach we know calls
McKnight and Purdue a potential good fit. He shoots well from the perimeter, has skills at
both guard positions, and is "quick as hell". From the limited exposure we have had of him,
his main area of concern is defensive decisionmaking. McKnight was named to the South Bend
Tribune's all-metro team as a junior, leading 8-13 LaSalle in scoring (20.4), assists (7.8)
and steals (2.4). Also named to the 2000 Junior All-Star team, McKnight was a high honorable
mention all-state honoree by the Associated Press, and was named to the Northern Indiana
Conference first team. Here are some links to game summaries and news articles on McKnight...
Speaking of Brandon McKnight, we have confirmed that the Junior All-Star squad featuring
McKnight will scrimmage at LaPorte High School on June 21. The girls game will tip-off
at 6:00pm, followed by the boys at 8:00pm.
June 1, 2000
A great resource for women's recruiting information has Purdue involved with two more
players in the Class of 2001. Sarah Kwasinski, a 6'4 center from Fenwick HS, IL has
Purdue among a list that also includes Boston College, Holy Cross, Northwestern,
Georgetown, DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame and others. As a junior, Kwasinski averaged
17 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks per game for Fenwick. Rated by Full Court Press
as the nation's 33rd best junior, Kwasinski was named all-american honorable mention by
USA Today, a WBCA underclassman all-american, and a Chicago Sun-Times all-area first team
honoree. Also showing interest in Purdue is 5-foot-10 shooting guard Courtney Young of Buena, CA.
Young averaged 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and over three steals per game as
a junior. Another USA Today all-american honorable mention player, Young is rated as
the 17th best prospect by Women's Basketball Journal and at #28 by Full Court Press. Young
has a lengthy list that includes Purdue, Duke, St. John's and others. [Class of 2001]
Here are some stories from across the net on Canyon's T'nae Thiel...
USA Basketball has announced the 42 invitees for the Junior World Championship Camp to
be held June 9-12 in Colorado Springs, CO. The 42 players will be reduced to one 12-member
team following the camp, and will represent the United States in the COPABA Women's
Junior World Championships July 14-24. The top three teams from that tournament will
automatically qualify for the 2001 FIBA Junior World Championship in 2001. Among the
names of interest invited to the camp are Nicole Louden (5'6 G, Kennedy Prep, NJ), T'nae
Thiel (6'1 F, Canyon, TX), Courtney Young (5'10 G, Buena, CA) and Shanna Zolman (5'10 G,
Wawasee, IN). [USA Basketball]
A member of the same AAU program as Milwaukee's Kamarr Davis is showing interest in
the Boilers. Latrell Fleming, a 6-foot-2 junior combo guard from Milwaukee Marshall HS, likes
Marquette, Purdue, Wisconsin, Missouri, Rutgers, and California so far. Fleming considers
himself still wide open to opportunities. Fleming will attend the ABCD Camp this July.
All-Star Report has some info from his weekend appearance at the Tournament of Champions...
[All-Star Report]
Dave Telep witnessed the play of Kamarr Davis this past weekend, and had the following
to say..."This guy emptied his tank in a quarterfinal win over the Illinois Fire. He's an
extremely active forward. His mid-range jumper is highly useful. He'll back kids down in the
post and use some quickness to maneuver in the paint. He's not a great athlete, but he's a
hard worker and accomplishes plenty." A scouting report on Latrell Fleming can also be
found on the same page... [Rivals100Hoops]
A prospect that continues to slide off the radar screen is Philadelphia's Tamal Forchion, who
recently gave Mike Sullivan a list of nine that did not (again) mention Purdue. We have
to go back to the end of 1999 to see the last time Purdue was mentioned by Forchion. [Insider's Report]
Matt Denison of Matt's Stats has some scouting reports on Bloomington Red players from the
Nike Bluegrass festival. Of interest are the write-ups on the Gary West duo of
Chris Hunter and Brandon Cameron, plus others like Dennis Coutee and Sean Kline. Speaking
of Kline, his press conference has been scheduled for Friday at 1:00pm at Huntington North
HS. [Matt's Stats]
May 31, 2000
Wisconsin wing forward Kamarr Davis is said to be getting some attention from the
Purdue staff, along with Marquette, Rutgers and USC. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior attends
Milwaukee Washington HS, and travels this summer with Friends of Hoop (Wisconsin). [Rivals100Hoops]
Purdue looks to be leading for the services of Canyon, TX junior T'nae Thiel a 6-foot-1
175-pound all-american candidate on one of the best teams in the state of Texas. Thiel is ranked as the 13th best
prospect on the class of 2001 by Full Court Press.
May 29, 2000
We have unofficial reports that the first scrimmage of the Indiana Junior and Senior All-Star
teams will be held at LaPorte high school on June 21. This scrimmage is considered the
"North" scrimmage, with the Junior All-Star team featuring the six-member core team of
Chris Thomas, Lonnie Randolph, Johnny Miller, Aaron Patterson, Dennis Coutee, Sean Kline;
and the six-member north team of Brandon Jones, Brandon McKnight, Nick Otis, Trai Essex,
Andrew Laird, Andre Patterson. Keep an eye on Trai Essex from Fort Wayne Harding, a kid who
has a shot at a Boilermaker football scholarship.
May 28, 2000
Sean Kline is set to announce his college choice this coming Friday, between Indiana and
Notre Dame. [Insider's Report]
The links have been updated on the "Recruiting Links" page, deleting some ancient ones and
adding some new links. [Recruiting Links]
May 26, 2000
Walk-on Corey Sears decided today to stay closer to home and attend the University of Kentucky,
according to our friend Keith Bays over at the Kentucky Sports Report. Rumors were
flying about this morning, and by the time we got back to Keith to tell him what we had heard,
it was already a done deal. [KSR]
Indianapolis Star Purdue beat writer Mark Ambrogi has a new column up with recruiting notes.
Included is a look at Warren Central's Will Caudle and Purdue's lengthy recruitment of him,
Gene Keady's busy schedule for the summer, and news that Cuonzo Martin is three credits away
from the recruiting trail. [Indy Star]
It is a well-known NCAA rule that coaches are not allowed to speak about unsigned players,
but we all know it happens. While it is not unusual that every coach will let information slip
out from time to time, it is unusual that the media will print the juicy tidbit and attribute
it back to the coach. It's the quickest way to never getting another interview with that coach
again. Which is exactly what happened to Denny Crum this week when a reporter printed a direct
quote from Crum about a prospect rumored to be considering Louisville. The only question
coaches are allowed to answer is a direct question about whether or not the staff is recruiting
a specific player. Coaches are allowed to confirm or deny they are recruiting a particular
player. In this case, whether you fault Crum for saying it or the reporter for printing it,
it ends up as a secondary violation on Louisville. [Courier-Journal]
Illini head coach Lon Kruger has accepted the head coaching job with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks,
leaving a loaded program with an excellent recruiting base wide open for some lucky
successor. One of the interesting names to pop up in connection with the opening is
Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, former head coach at Illinois State, who would have the
advantage of familiarity with recruiting the state of Illinois. Stallings has been rumored
for years to be a frontrunner for any future vacant Purdue job, a rumor that is even mentioned
within both of the following articles. [Sun-Times][Herald-Review]
In this installment of point/counterpoint, Steve and Capri address the question: "Who is
Purdue's greatest Big 10 rival...Indiana or Penn State?" [Columnists]
May 25, 2000
Lorenzo Harris for NorCal Preps has been publishing a series of articles on summer
AAU basketball. The first article from two weeks ago, discussed a few differences between
the AAU and the high school game. In the latest article, sources of friction between the two
camps are examined. [Part I][Part II]
Purdue is involved with 6-foot-8 power forward Finlay Brashears, , a junior from Clarksville, AR.
Purdue was noticed in the stands scouting Brashears back in February. Schools involved
with Brashears also include Stanford, Samford, Vanderbilt and Utah, among others. Here
are a couple of articles from games this past season...
Bill Hensley and the Spiece tournament directors have faxed us a copy of the 2000 Run 'N Slam
all-tournament teams for each age bracket. Among the Purdue targets receiving all-tournament
recognition are Joah Tucker, Tyler Best, Russell Trudeau, James Banks, John Morningstar, and Parnell Smith.
[Spiece Honors]
Note: This will be the last update until May 24th due to unexpected system upgrade.
The old machine has been up and down all month, keeping me from updating the site as
I would like. Back in a few days.
May 18, 2000
Note: This will be the last update until May 24th due to unexpected system upgrade.
The old machine has been up and down all month, keeping me from updating the site as
I would like. Back in a few days.
May 17, 2000
A report today claims the NCAA's Cedric Dempsey denied the NCAA was out to completely end
summer recruiting. Included in this article are worries about the coaching staff having
to spend more time away from campus during the academic year, and concerns about the
players who need that attention falling through the cracks as a result. [Insider's Report]
An interesting story that mentions Sean Kline in the Huntington Herald Press. Although
the article clearly puts Notre Dame and Indiana as the final two on his list, Gene Keady
and Purdue get several mentions. Sean's mother, Sarah Wall, came up and introduced herself
at the Spiece tournament two weekends ago. There have been quite a few rumors floating
around during his recruiting about where Sean's parents had attended school. She wanted
us to know she did attend Purdue University. [Herald-Press]
Chris Thomas has made a verbal commitment to Notre Dame over Stanford, Purdue, Michigan
State and Iowa. What is interesting are the comments about Indiana not recruiting him
at the end by Pike coach Alan Darner. Now Notre Dame awaits the decision of Huntington
North's Sean Kline. [Insider's Report]
Midwest Hoops has their top 60 players of the class of 2001 out, featuring a host of Purdue
targets. [Midwest Hoops]
Another update on 6-foot-9 Warren Central junior center Will Caudle. This update mentions more
schools showing interest... [Fastbreak Recruiting]
May 12, 2000
The Purdue staff may be interested in David Lee of Chaminade HS in St. Louis, but Lee
can only be said to have a mild interest in the Boiler program. Lee gave a handful of
scouts lists this weekend, and none of them had Purdue among his favorites. Here's another... [Insider's Report]
Two Illinois junior all-state players are showing interest in Purdue, both being ranked
nationally in the top 10 at their respective positions. Marcellus Sommerville,
a 6-foot-6 small forward from Peoria Central and Lavar Seals, a 6-foot-3 wing guard from
Providence St. Mel, are both interested in the Boilers. Sommerville has the body to play
small forward and can definitely create his own shot. He averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds
for Peoria Central as a junior. Seals, the higher rated of the two on the national level,
is a slasher guard, explosive at times on offense. Members of the Providence-St. Mel team
visited Mackey Arena on the way down Indiana to play Indianapolis Broad Ripple. Seals
averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals per game. Seals is
currently considering Purdue, Wisconsin, Arizona, Southern California, Marquette,
and Tulane and needs to get a qualifying score on the SAT. [FastBreak]
Here's a story about 6-foot-9 big man Will Caudle from Warren Central in
Indianapolis. [Insider's Report]
May 11, 2000
While no longer looking at Purdue, here's an update on Sean Kline and Chris Thomas. Kline
will be announcing his decision before the end of the school year, and that decision
should be Notre Dame. Chris Thomas could follow. [South Bend Tribune]
If the Purdue staff banks the remaining scholarships for this spring without
signing a wing scorer, Darmetreis Kilgore will remain an option for a scholarship in
2001. Kilgore finished as the sixth best scorer in NJCAA Region 14 in his first year of play
for Tyler J.C., averaging 18.4 points on 47-percent shooting from the floor and 67-percent
from the line. Here are a couple of articles from Tyler games this past season...
Play-by-play from 89-81 win over Jacksonville [TSRN]
Play-by-play from 82-67 loss to San Jacinto [TSRN]
Northwest Mississippi JC swingman Jamar McKnight has committed to Clemson after a
weekend visit. It is looking more likely that Purdue will bank the remaining two scholarships
they have available for this spring, and increase their total to three for next season.
More Spiece updates. We've got a game summary up for Pump N Run which features Clovis
West (CA) point guard Chris Hernandez, plus some links to other articles over the net
on the tournament. More coming...[Spiece Page]
While some might still paint Purdue into Chris Thomas' picture, we would be highly
surprised, even shocked to see Purdue still under consideration. Thomas said at the
tournament he would be visiting Notre Dame on Wednesday, then planned on visiting Stanford
this coming weekend. We really think both Sean Kline and Thomas will not drag this out until
the fall, and will verbal this summer. Just not to Purdue. What is interesting is that
Thomas' decision could influence the choice of Chris Hernandez. Stanford wants Hernandez
in a bad way. If Thomas sneaks into Stanford before Hernandez, it could send him looking
to go outside the PAC10.
BIG TEN UPDATE: Michigan has picked up a verbal from 7-foot-1 320-pound center Josh Moore
of St. Thomas Moore Prep. Moore is rated as one of the top centers in the country and is
expected to contribute immediately. Wolverine fans are also hoping Moore will neutralize
rival Michigan State's all-american big man Zach Randolph over the next couple of years.
May 8, 2000
We're back online after spending the weekend at Purdue for the Spiece Run 'N Slam.
The tournament was again quite overwhelming, but we learned a lot and saw most of the
teams and teams we wanted to see. Over the next two weeks with the help of several people
who will contribute to the page, we will be posting summaries and reports from the
tournament. All this will be put on the Tournament Summary page. Up right now are the
complete tournament brackets for the seniors, juniors and sophomores, including scores
through the final game. Mike also got online to post a few reports on his forum over the
weekend. We have a couple of shots up of David Lee, with a ton of video and pictures
coming. The video will take longer to get uploaded. [Spiece Page]
Brett Buscher took a huge leap in Bob Gibbons' rankings, rising to the 24th best
prospect in the Class of 2000. [Chicago Sun-Times]
May 4, 2000
Isiah Thomas is the only person able to stop Frank Kendrick from being the head coach
for the Steelheads, a new CBA team in Gary Indiana. Charles Bennett, who hails from the
Region and is now a top executive with the CBA, confirmed Kendrick had been appointed.
Thomas however, when asked about Kendrick, said nothing is official and an announcement
would be made at a later date. He also told The Times that he considered talks
still in the "interview process". The largest investor for the Steelheads, Napoleon
Brandford III, has also said Kendrick is his choice. [The Times]
Spiece tournament organizers are still looking for scorekeepers and timeskeepers to
fill in this weekend. Two people are needed per game, and Spiece will pay $6 per game
to anyone willing to help out. More details on the tournament page... [Spiece Page]
Shanna Zolman got some good press after her performance at the Deep South Classic last
month. She was named one of the top 12 prospects at the camp by ASGR. [Women's Basketball Journal]
May 3, 2000
The first in a series of point/counterpoint columns, Steve and Capri weigh in on the
question: "Who's the most important player in Purdue women's basketball history?" [Columnists]
We have received the roster for Joah Tucker's team, the Playground Warriors. This team
will be one to watch this year, since they are the returning champion of the junior
bracket last year. Tucker was named all-tournament, with teammate Travis Deiner winning
the juniors MVP last year. Also see the notice on changes in the pool assignments. [Spiece Page]
Big Ten News: The University of Wisconsin has picked up a commitment from an Illinois
high school junior. Neil Plank, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Mount Zion, chose Wisconsin
over Iowa, Minnesota and Marquette. Plank averaged 13.1 points per game last season. [Decatur Herald]
May 2, 2000
Iowa has received a verbal from junior point guard Pierre Pierce of Westmont (IL). Pierce
is a 6-foot-3 point guard who can also score in bunches. Pierce, along with Illinois recruit
Roger Powell, paid Purdue an unofficial visit back in the fall. [All-Star Report]
Jamar McKnight visited Providence this past weekend along with junior college power forward
Randy Holcomb. McKnight is looking at a visit to Clemson before making a decision. [Friar Insider]
New additions to the Spiece tournament preview page include a list of players to watch during
the tournament, from observations made last weekend at the Show-Me Shootout, and a team preview
for NWI Players or Indiana. [Spiece Page]
May 1, 2000
David Lee impressed many scouts at this past weekend's Show-Me Shootout. In a head-to-head
matchup against Dennis Lattimore of Halstead, KS, Vince Bladwin of Midwest Hoops saw Lee
as the better player. Another source from the tournament tells us Indiana is now out of the
picture, and Lee is looking for UNC and Kentucky to get involved. Lee claims he will not
formulate a list until after the July evaluation period. [Midwest Hoops]
New additions to the Spiece tournament preview page include schedules for all 150+ teams
for pool play, rosters for senior-to-be teams for Bloomington Red and Illinois Warriors,
and a bunch of rosters for Spiece teams. [Spiece Page]
APRIL 29, 2000
It is almost that time of year again, time for another Spiece Run 'N Slam tournament at
Purdue University. This year's tournament has drawn over 150 teams and features more
teams in every age bracket. We will again host a tournament preview page that will
feature articles and information on the tournament. A link to the page has been added
immediately above the beginning of the "recruiting news" section of this page. Updates
will be posted here in the daily info area as we collect rosters, team previews and
scouting reports. New additions to the preview page are up tonight, featuring general
tournament info, rules, format, team pool assignments, directions to campus and info
on accomodations. There is also info on a get-together we will have on Saturday, May
6th at Jake's in Chauncey Hill. [2000 Run 'N Slam]
We are hearing that Brett Buscher will be featured in highlights on FOX SPORTS at 10:00am
this morning.
Indianapolis Pike's Chris Thomas is rated as the nation's fifth-best point guard prospect
in the junior class in the most recent top 30 list by Midwest Hoops. [Midwest Hoops]
APRIL 28, 2000
More news on the Andre Patterson Jr. transfer to Washington Prep in Los Angeles. Andre
Patterson Sr. has confirmed to the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel that Andre Jr. has enrolled
at Washington Prep in Los Angeles. However, Andre Sr. still believes it is possible
Andre could be back at Fort Wayne Concordia for his senior season. The reason for the
at least temporary relocation was the illness of Patterson's grandmother. The guidance
counselor at Concordia high school has confirmed Andre Jr. has requested his records be
transferred to Washington Prep. This News-Sentinel article has more details, but the link
will not stay active for long... [News-Sentinal]
The NCAA has approved a package of new guidelines aimed at addressing some concerns about
recruiting and access to prospective student athletes. The following discusses some of
the changes and what it means for recruiting and maintaining student-athletes. [MrHoops - Bob Richards]
Jamar McKnight is scheduled to visit Providence College this weekend, and could complete
the team's five-member recruiting class. Providence received a verbal commitment from
6-foot-9 Latvian forward Maris Laska, a thin prospect with perimeter range that is being
thought of as a power forward for Providence. This puts the Providence class with a center,
a power forward, an off-guard and a point guard. They hope to get a commitment from the
6-foot-5 McKnight this weekend to complete the class. As of now, four players currently
on scholarship at Providence will be returning, having publicly acknowledged they have
been cleared by the university of responsibility in a recent brawl. On the other hand,
four other players have now been charged with felonies by the Providence Police Department.
For a summary of the assault case check out this link to the [Friar Insider], and for a
recruiting update check out this link to the [Providence Journal].
APRIL 27, 2000
Midwest Hoops has released their list of the top 30 power forwards and wing forwards in the junior class.
Purdue targets David Lee ranks at No. 5 and Andre Patterson Jr. comes in at No. 13 among power forwards. [Top30 Power Forwards][Top30 Wing Forwards]
APRIL 26, 2000
Austin Parkinson evaluates the talent on this summer's Indiana All-Star team, player by
player. [Kokomo Tribune]
Tryouts for open walk-on positions this fall may be very competitive, especially if the staff
still needs a shooter and Western's Adam Foust decides to attend Purdue. Foust is a 6-foot-1
senior guard at Western, and is known as an accurate long-range bomber. He set school records
for three-pointers in a game (9), season (87) and career (192). He averaged just over 20 points
as a senior and was named to the Kokomo Tribune All-Area team with Austin Parkinson. Faust
is rumored to be considering Purdue with the intent of walking on with the team. Western
head coach Andy Weaver told the Kokomo Tribune "I've not seen a player from my program or
from any other program with his range. He shoots from 30 feet with the same form he shoots
from 15 feet -- just effortless and smooth."
Huntington North's 6-foot-7 junior forward Sean Kline has reportedly narrowed his list
to just include Indiana and Notre Dame. [Insider's Report]
Purdue announced on Tuesday the resignation of assistant coach Jim Thrash, who joined the Boiler
staff two years ago from Southern Idaho. A move within the staff was hinted at as early as
last fall when it became known former Boilermaker forward Cuonzo Martin was trying to complete his
degree to qualify for a coaching position. It wasn't until today that we found out Thrash
would be the coach to create room on the staff for Martin. While not officially a part of the
staff yet, Martin is the frontrunner. If degree requirements are completed this August,
Zo will be on staff as a recruiter late this summer. Until then, assistant Todd Foster
steps up to handle the recruiting duties along with fellow assistant Jay Price during the
busy summer evaluation period. [Purdue SID]
APRIL 25, 2000
Bob Gibbons reports Cam Stephens has signed with UNC-Charlotte. We wish Cam the best in
getting his education and achieving his goals. [All Star Report]
April 24, 2000
Former Boilermaker Tricia Cullop has been named the head women's basketball coach at the
University of Evansville. Cullop leaves Xavier University in Cincinnati, where she was a
recruiting assistant coach.
God, his family, Bob King, Jim Yeakel and Rick Mount. Just a few of the people Austin
Parkinson heaped praise upon after being named to the Indiana All-Star team. [Kokomo Tribune]
Bruce Weber and his Southern Illinois Salukis have received a signed letter of intent from
junior college all-american swingman Tyrese Buie of Highland CC. Buie, a 6-foot-6 scorer
who averaged 18 points and eight rebounds per game as a juco sophomore, was recently named
a third team all-american by the NJCAA. We like to keep tabs on the recruiting successes
of members of the Boilermaker family, but this signing also has an impact on Purdue's
recruitment of Jamar McKnight. Buie picked Southern Illinois over Louisiana Tech, the only
school other than Purdue to get an official visit from McKnight. Providence College, who
is also in the race for McKnight, has recently gained a signed LOI from high school senior
guard Donnell Allick. However, a longtime source of ours at Providence doesn't expect this to
influence McKnight's decision, even though Allick is seen as a quality player. It is
still uncertain if Allick can get the required score on his ACT, Allick is NOT the scorer
that McKnight is, and a proven scorer like McKnight would likely function immediately in
PC's offense before Allick could hope to settle into the college routine. Allick also
verballed to Providence in January, so McKnight was well aware Allick was in the
pipeline when he began considering Providence in the first place. What still will impact
McKnight is a hearing scheduled for Tuesday to discuss an assault case involving four
members of the men's basketball team. The players may not get off so easily, as the
Providence Journal reports the committee in charge of the hearing had hoped to wrap things
up before Easter break to "calm the unrest among students who feel that basketball players
are treated more leniently than their peers."[Providence Journal]
APRIL 23, 2000
The Indianapolis Star announced today that Purdue recruits Brett Buscher, Austin
Parkinson and John Standeford have all been named to the Indiana Senior All-Star team.
[Indianapolis Star]
2000 Indiana Senior All-Stars
Michael Bennett, 6'5 G, Brebeuf Prep
Brody Boyd, 5'11 PG, Union-Dugger HS
Brett Buscher, 6'7 PF, Chesterton HS
Steve Drabyn, 5'10 PG, LaPorte HS
Blake English, 6'7 F, Evansville North HS
Jared Jeffries, 6'10 F, Bloomington North HS
Andre Owens, 6'3 G, Perry Meridian HS
Austin Parkinson, 6'0 PG, Northwestern HS
Shane Power, 6'5 F/G, Andrean HS
Zach Randolph, 6'9 C/F, Marion HS
Aaron Thomas, 6'7 C/F, Northridge HS
John Standeford, 6'5 F/G, Monrovia HS
April 22, 2000
Women's Basketball Journal has released its 1999-2000 high school All-America teams. Erika Valek
was named to the first team, with Cherrise Graham on the second team and Shereka Wright on
the fifth team. Although the honor teams are provided by All Star Girls Report, who touts
themselves as "America's premier prep scouting service", it baffles us how low Shereka Wright
is rated. For a player who has been awarded several National Player of the Year awards already,
how can the service rate 20 to 24 players as potentially better? [WBJ]
Purdue has received a commitment from 6-foot-3 University of Kentucky transfer Laura Meadows.
Meadows, a junior forward, averaged 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds for Kentucky last season
starting 21 of 29 games. Meadows will sit out the 2000-2001 season, then have one year of
eligibility remaining. [Journal and Courier]
The scholarship page has been updated to reflect the addition of Laura Meadows. [Scholarship Grid]
Although the list will not officially be released to the public until Sunday by the
Indianapolis Star, Brett Buscher and Shane Power have both been named to the Indiana
Senior All-Star team. [TimesOnline]
A report from Insider's Report says Cam Stephens had a good visit to UNCC this past weekend
and looks ahead to visiting Memphis on April 28th and Long Beach State on May 5th. [Insider's Report]
A 6-foot-10, 250-pound center from Michigan is looking at Purdue. Nathan Loherke of
Mattawan (MI) is reportedly drawing interest from Penn State, Iowa State, MSU, Michigan,
Wisconsin, Purdue, Marquette, Xavier, and Northwestern. [Midwest Hoops]
A short article on Junior All-Star Brandon Jones. [Kokomo Tribune]
Purdue, Indiana and Ball State each had two recruits at the Top40 Workout in Indianapolis
last week. Some comments on each school's signees by the Kokomo Tribune's Pedro Velazco.
[Kokomo Tribune]
There is a new scouting report up on Sean Kline. [Midwest Hoops]
APRIL 21, 2000
Here are a couple of stories on 6-foot-5 junior JaQuan Hart from Flint Northern High, who
lists Purdue as a possible choice...
Yesterday we took a look at the situation on the wing at Providence in relation to prospect
Jamar McKnight, and mentioned the Friars were pursuing Zelimir Stevanovic, a 6-foot-7 small
forward form Gulf Coast CC. Pitt was the winner in that recruiting race, with Utah second and
Providence third. That means Providence still badly needs a scorer on the wing.
The list of schools flying in to check out 7-foot-0 junior Chris Jackson keeps getting longer.
A short list of voyeurs is listed by Dave Telep's new site. We will get our first look at
Jackson coming up in two weeks at the 2000 Spiece Run 'N Slam at Purdue. [Rivals100]
While on the subject of Dave Telep's new site, he has a listing of the top 260 players in
the class of 2001 online. [Rivals100]
If the staff does not pick up a wing scorer this spring, another junior has entered the
picture for next year's class. JaQuan Hart, a 6-foot-5 180-pound junior from Flint Northern
High in Michigan, has Purdue on his list along with most other Big Ten programs. Hart averaged 22
points and nine rebounds as a junior. [WaveFans.net]
APRIL 19, 2000
A look at the recent troubles at Providence College and how they might influence the
visit and decision of prospect Jamar McKnight. [MrHoops - Bob Richards]
APRIL 18, 2000
We have now confirmed via an email from Teresa Patterson that Andre will be transferring
to California.
Several players mentioning Purdue put in top rated performances recently in the Boo Williams
AAU tournament. In the 17-under division, 6-foot-8 David Lee was named the top power forward
at the camp. Playing this summer for the St. Louis Eagles, Lee is described by Van Johnson of
FastBreak Recruiting as having a "game similar to Troy Murphy or Raef Lafrentz". At small
forward, Johnson rates Georgia junior Josh Pace at No.2, calling him a "skilled lefty wing
player who plays the 1, 2, or 3." Illinois Warrior's guard Pierre Pierce rated the
fifth-best shooting guard prospect. Coleman identified him as a "fundamentally sound shooting
guard that scores off the dribble and hits the 17 footer with consistency."[FastBreak Recruiting]
A scouting report on Saint Louis Chaminade's David Lee can be found at FastBreak Recruiting.
[FastBreak Recruiting]
After showing early interest in the Boilermakers, 6-foot-6 215-pound junior power forward Tamal
Forchion from Philidelphia Roman Catholic has an early list of nine that has a definite
eastern flavor. UMass, St. Joseph's, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Virginia, Miami, Rutgers,
Villanova and East Carolina are getting strong looks. [Insider's Report]
APRIL 17, 2000
Purdue walkon Andrew Ford, along with prospects Russell Trudeau and Tyler Best, were all
named all-area by the Journal and Courier. Ford and Trudeau drew first team honors while
Best made the second team. Ford, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, averaged 18.6 points and 5.3
rebounds for West Lafayette HS. Trudeau, a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward, averaged 15.9
points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks for Central Catholic. CC teammate Best, a 6-foot-8
sophomore forward, averaged 14.4 points after suffering through a near-blinding eye
infection that had bothered him since December. [Journal and Courier]
Beat writers Capri Small and Steve Valiant have teamed up on a piece reviewing the 1999-2000
season for the Boilers. MrHoops Feature
According to Bob Gibbons, Kilgore JC's Jermaine Lewis has signed with UNLV and Tyler (TX)
winger Immanuel McElroy has signed with Cincinnati.
Reports say Austin Parkinson had a great showing during the Top 40 Workout yesterday
at Pike High in Indianapolis. The camp, featuring 50 of the state's top seniors (40 plus
10 alternates), can make or break a player's chances of becoming an Indiana All-Star.
According to the Kokomo Tribune, Parkinson had nine points, nine assists, four rebounds
and three steals. Jay Price was in the bleachers to watch Parkinson and fellow Boiler
signees Brett Buscher and John Standeford. Buscher had
a 23 point showing and Standeford may have played himself onto the team with a 22 point effort.
In the Bloomington Herald article, Jared Jeffries calls Buscher "a really, really good power
forward." [Kokomo Tribune][Bloomington Herald][TimesOnline]
The 2000 Indiana Junior All-Star team has been selected. The Junior All-Star team will
play two exhibition games with Indiana Senior All-Stars on June 14 and June 21. The team
consists of 18 players, six of them playing in both games. This six-member "core" team
will join with a separate six-member "north" team in one game and a six-member "south"
team in game two. The selections are as follows...
Core Team:
Chris Thomas, 6-1 guard, Indianapolis Pike
Lonnie Randolph, 6-1 guard, Merrillville
Johnny Miller, 6-3 guard, Muncie Central
Aaron Patterson, 6-5 forward, Ben Davis
Dennis Coutee, 6-6 forward, Jeffersonville
Sean Kline, 6-7 forward, Huntington North
North Team:
Brandon Jones, 6-1 guard, Peru
Brandon McKnight, 6-2 guard, South Bend LaSalle
Nick Otis, 6-4 forward, LaPorte
Trai Essex, 6-5 forward, Fort Wayne Harding
Andrew Laird, 6-6 forward, Penn
Andre Patterson, 6-7 center, Fort Wayne Concordia
South Team:
Corey Bennett, 5-11 guard, New Castle
Jake Wiltrout, 5-11 guard, Plainfield
Kyle Hankins, 6-3 guard, Bloomington South
Chris Hill, 6-3 forward, Lawrence North
Ric Wyand, 6-6 forward, Franklin Central
Will Caudle, 6-9 center, Warren Central
APRIL 15, 2000
Junior college second team all-american Jermaine Lewis from Kilgore J.C. (TX) is going to look
at four schools this spring, none of which is Purdue. Wyoming, New Mexico, UNLV and TCU
are in the running. [JuCo Junction]
Shereka Wright joins Erica Valek and Cherrise Graham as first team honorees by Parade
Magazine. Lindsey Hicks was honored on the fourth team. Wright was also named the Texas
Class 5A player of the year this week by the Association of Texas Sportswriters.
April 14, 2000
There were two pieces of information involving the University of Kentucky and Purdue today.
First, Dayton (OH) power forward Alvine Mending, ranked 27th by All Star Girls Report,
has chosen Kentucky. In the meantime, another player has chosen to leave Kentucky and Purdue
looks to be getting a visit this weekend. Laura Meadows, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, will
visit Penn State on Saturday, then spend Sunday and Monday at Purdue. Meadows will have to
sit out the upcoming 2000-2001 season, but will have one year remaining on scholarship after
that point. [Journal and Courier]
A couple of blurbs today from on Cherrise Graham and Archbishop Carroll. Even though Catholic
League schools will not take part in the state public school class tournament, Cardinal O'Hara
coach Linus McGinty is confident Carroll is the best team in the state. Also a nice comment
from Cherrise further down the article about carrying four fouls through the fourth quarter...
[Philly Inquirer]
We are hearing a move may soon be in the works for Fort Wayne's Andre Patterson Jr. His mother
currently lives in the Los Angeles area while his father is in Fort Wayne. Likely new
school for Andre...Washington Prep in LA.
An NCAA committee has passed a series of resolutions designed to change collegiate recruiting.
The package now goes to the Division I Board of Trustees on April 27th for a vote. Among the
interesting proposed changes are the limiting of the summer evaluation period from over three
weeks down to just two weeks with a 10-day "dead period" separating the two weeks, and the
opportunity for the student-athlete to get aid to attend school the summer before his/her
freshman year. What may be more interesting are the porposals that did not make it out of
committee. The committee failed to pass a proposal that would scale a program's scholarships
according to the program's graduation rate. If a school could graduate more than 75-percent
of their players, the program would be given a 14th scholarship to use. However, if a program
could not graduate at least 33-percent, the program would lose one scholarship. The NCAA also
turned away the idea of requiring a student-athlete to pass 12 credit hours their first
semester of school, with a grade point average of at least 2.000. [NCAA]
Barton County power forward Jackie Rogers has signed with Massachusetts. [JuCo Junction]
APRIL 12, 2000
The recruiting picture will become increasingly clearer today as the spring signing period
kicks off and lasts through May 15th. For prospective student athletes, the signing period
is a time to officially lock up their commitments to Division I schools by signing an
NCAA sponsored national letter of intent (LOI). While a player can sign an LOI anytime of
the year, it is only considered binding upon both parties when signed within an NCAA signing
period.
For coaches, April is a mixed bag of recruiting periods. Through April 13th, coaching
staffs are in what the NCAA calls a "dead period", where in-person contact is not allowed on-campus
or off-campus. That also means coaching staffs are not allowed to host official or unofficial
visits. Beginning April 14th, the coaches move into an open "contact period" where they are
allowed to make in-person, off-campus contacts and make player evaluations. This period runs
for close to a week until the 20th. On the 21st of April and running through July 7th, the
NCAA enforces a "quiet period". Quiet periods restrict coaches to in-person contact
with prospective student athletes only on the campus of the member institution. All this builds
up to the summer "evaluation period", running July 8th through July 31st. Coaches travel the
country the entire period scouting talent and attending numerous summer evaluation camps.
While the coaches are allowed to attend camps and evaluate talent, contact is prohibited
between the coach and prospect during this period. According to the NCAA, a contact is
considered any face-to-face meeting where anything more than a simple "hello" is exchanged.
It is also considered a contact if a face-to-face meeting is prearranged, regardless of
the conversation.
Although the Kokomo Tribune only has Austin's assist total at 10 for the Reebok North/South
game as opposed to the 15 reported by the Indianapolis Star, the article names Parkinson and
Buscher as two shining stars for the game. There are also a nice couple of quotes from Marion
head coach Moe Smedley about Austin's court vision and overall leadership. [Kokomo Tribune]
There has not been much more than silence lately about 7-foot-0 juco center Charles Ludwig,
since Juco Junction reported Purdue on his list right before the early signing period last
fall. Ludwig, a 270-pound center, just last weekend paid a visit to Oral Roberts University.
He is also mentioned being interested in Virginia Tech. [TigerRoar]
The Parade all-american teams have been leaked, and so far we know Erica Valek and Cherrise
Graham were named first team all-americans. Lindsey Hicks was named to the fourth team. The
Dayton Daily News has some feedback from Hicks on the award, as well as a scouting report on
her game from coaches. [Dayton Daily News]
Another story on the WBCA all-star game held last Saturday... [USA Today]
April 11, 2000
An AAU player bio pushing Georgia junior star Wynter Whitley as a national player
of the year candidate for 2001... [AAU bio]
An update on 6-foot-8 junior forward David Lee. [Midwest Hoops]
APRIL 10, 2000
The Indianapolis Star has a lot of great things to say about the performances of Purdue's
Brett Buscher and Austin Parkinson in the Reebok North/South All-Star Classic held in
Marion on Sunday. Buscher led the North team with 25 points, shooting 12 of 15 from the floor
and 1 of 2 from the line. Parkinson, also on the North team, shot only 3 of 9 from the floor
for six points, but dished out 15 assists. The North defeated the South 132-107. John
Standeford had 13 points and 7 rebounds for the South team. [Indy Star]
It boggles the mind that only 38-percent of the 1034 ballots for Indiana Mr. Basketball
were returned. The Indianapolis Star should consider sending ballots to people who respect
the honor enough to respond.
April 9, 2000
The three Purdue recruits playing in the WBCA All-Star game yesterday were impressive. Shereka
Wright and Cherrise Graham both finished with 13 points a piece, while Erica Valek showed
tight defensive pressure and a sweet no-look behind-the-back pass in the paint on a fastbreak
at the end of the game. Some player analysis from Capri Small...
"Cherisse Graham really IS a clone of Ukari Figgs. On the court she looks, acts, moves, and
plays like Ukari did. One one play she penetrated the lane and then dished to Anne O'Neil
behind the arc and it looked EXACTLY like the Figgs to McCarty dish we've seen for 4 years.
(O'Neil, being no McCarty, missed the wide open look). She played the best defense and made
good decisions when she had the ball."
"Shereka Wright is all that. She is incredibly fast with and without the ball. The most
impressive thing about her was how efficient she was. At one point she was her team's leading
scorer with eight points after taking only three shots. All three went in, she was fouled on
two of them and made both free throws, too. She also pulled down six boards, mainly because
she is so fast to the ball."
"Erica Valek looked great to start, then made poorer decisions when she got tired. She
would overpenetrate and try to put up shots against players a foot taller than she was.
She will need to learn what Komara did about playing against taller more talented players.
She is very fast and strong. She also seems to have a point guard, take no prisoners,
mentality."
Purdue is the second program to get an official visit from 6-foot-5 winger Jamar McKnight.
McKnight visited Louisiana Tech on March 24th, and plans to take more visits over the
coming weeks. [JuCo Junction]
APRIL 8, 2000
No rest and relaxation for Keady and staff just yet. After ending the 2000 season with a trip
to the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament, some coaches would start making vacation plans,
attempting to get some rest and relaxation in before a busy summer of recruiting begins.
But with at least one scholarship in need of being filled this spring, maybe two if the
right position player comes along, Keady has been out on the road looking at junior college
wing players. One of the stops Coach has made was to meet with West Lafayette's Andrew Ford,
a 6-foot-3 scoring guard who averaged 18.6 points as a senior shooting 41-percent from the
perimeter. Ford was invited to walk on the team, an offer he was more than happy to accept.
Ford plans to redshirt the 2000-2001 season, then try to earn a scholarship over the next
four seasons. [Journal and Courier]
Some great recruiting info in an article Journal and Courier by Jeff Washburn. Keady will
know the second week of May whether Cuonzo Martin will be able to join the Purdue staff as
a recruiting assistant in August. When spring grades are posted, the staff will be able to
tell if Martin will be able to attain his degree at the end of the summer. If he does,
Martin will be a recruiter for Purdue in August. Keady still hopes to keep Todd Foster
involved with the program, and states Todd had a lot to do with the improvement of the
team this year. The article also says Purdue is being seriously considered by six junior
college scorers, and that Immanuel McElroy and Cam Stephens are not being counted among
those six players. Purdue is getting an official visit today from Northwest Mississippi
Community College wing Jamar McKnight, a 6-foot-5 scorer who averaged 19 points per game.
Keady also hopes to get an early commitment from a high school junior before he is tied
up with Olympic team duties from May 24th to October 6th. The article also discusses
how the two incoming big men will be counted on to give quality minutes right away.
[Journal and Courier]
APRIL 7, 2000
Jamaal Davis now looks to be back solidly in the corner of Cincinnati, according to a
recent report by Russ Blake. [JuCo Junction]
Three Purdue recruits have made the cut to play in the Top40 Workout on April 15 at Pike
High in Indianapolis. The camp gives the organizers of the Indiana All-Star team (the
Indianapolis Star) an opportunity to formulate a decent roster. It also gives top
unsigned Indiana players some much-needed exposure. John Standeford, Brett Buscher and
Austin Parkinson have all three been invited. The camp can make or break a player's
shot at the all-star team. In the past, top Indiana players who have shown up late to
the camp, or that have showed up but played lazily, have been overlooked in the all-star
selection process. [Indianapolis Star]
APRIL 6, 2000
Fastbreak Recruiting has an update on several players of interest, including jucos Immanuel
McElroy, Cam Stephens and Jamaal Davis. Interesting to note that the author has Purdue in
connection with Jamaal Davis. Hmmm... [Fastbreak Recruiting]
The top ten junior and senior point guards are listed in the latest Brick Oettinger column,
including junior point guard Chris Thomas of Indianapolis Pike. [Sporting News]
A fan is reporting that Hoop Scoop has Iowa and Illinois as the favorites for Illinois
junior point guard Pierre Pierce, and Iowa is also in the lead for Chris Thomas.
APRIL 5, 2000
We were faxed a copy of the Junior College All-Americans today, and several familiar names
are on the various honor teams...
First Team:
Eugene Costello, 5-10, 160, SO, Midland College, TX
Lee Guinn, 6-1, 180, SO, Champlain College, VT
Joe Gordon, 6-2, 170, SO, Brevard CC, FL
Daryan Selvy, 6-6, 205, SO, Carl Albert State, OK
Eric Batchelor, 6-6, 215, SO, NE Mississippi CC, MS
Tyray Pearson, 6-7, 200, SO, Kankakee CC, IL
John Grice, 6-7, 205, SO, Shelby State CC, TN
Johnnie Selvie, 6-7, 225, SO, Southeastern CC, IA
Aaron McGhee, 6-7, 240, SO, Vincennes University, IN
Cory Hightower, 6-8, 210, SO, Indian Hills CC, IA
Second Team:
Eric Bush, 5-10, 170, FR, Barton County CC, KS
Larry Reid, 5-11, 160, SO, Northern Oklahoma, OK
Travis Spivey, 6-1, 200, SO, Salt Lake CC, UT
Jermaine Lewis, 6-4, 190, SO, Kilgore College, TX
Immanuel McElroy, 6-4, 200, SO, Tyler Junior College, TX
Mike Wallace, 6-6, 240, SO, SW Missouri, West Plains, MO
Derrick Allen, 6-7, 212, SO, Southern Union State CC, AL
Mindaugia Burneika, 6-7, 225, SO, Weatherford College, TX
Dion Broom, 6-7, 235, SO, Yavapai College, AZ
Antwan Jones, 6-8, 185, SO, Tallahassee CC, FL
Third Team:
John Humphrey, 6-2, 205, FR, Louisburg College, NC
Wesley Attebury, 6-3, 185, SO, Olney Central College, IL
Kevin Bridges, 6-3, 185, SO, Westchester CC, NY
Monte Cummings, 6-4, 180, SO, Southeastern CC, IA
Quinn Diede, 6-4, 195, SO, Williston State College, ND
Alex Hernandez, 6-4, 205, SO, Casper College, WY
Tyrese Buie, 6-6, 210, SO, Highland CC, IL
Charles Somerville, 6-7, 210, SO, Garrett CC, MD
Jamaal Davis, 6-8, 230, SO, Barton County CC, KS
Xavier Morton, 6-9, 240, SO, Georgia Perimeter, GA
Honorable Mention:
Justin Bradshaw, 5-8, 160, SO, Snow College, UT
Karl Sanders, 5-8, 165, SO, Monroe CC, NY
Lincoln Glass, 5-10, 185, SO, Lincoln Trail, IL
Robert Yanders, 6-0, 145, SO, SW Missouri, West Plains, MO
Maurice Baker, 6-1, 175, SO, Dixie College, UT
Antonio Henderson, 6-2, 180, SO, Atlanta Metro College, GA
Justin Shelwood, 6-2, 190, SO, Bishop State CC, AL
Marlon Miller, 6-3, 176, SO, Lenoir CC, NC
Danny Osby, 6-3, 185, SO, North Dakota St. Clg. of Science
Jaeson Maravich, 6-4, 170, FR, Mississippi Gulf Coast CC, MS
Robert Brown, 6-4, 190, SO, Schoolcraft College, MI
Terrell Ross, 6-4, 195, FR, Allegany College, MD
Gilson DeJesus, 6-4, 205, FR, Trinidad State JC, CO
Brian Foster, 6-4, 225, SO, Three Rivers CC, MO
George Arnold, 6-5, 210, SO, Holmes CC, MS
Tim Smith, 6-5, 220, SO, Cochise College, AZ
Josh Richardson, 6-5, 220, SO, Sheridan College, WY
Elvin Mims, 6-6, 200, SO, Okaloosa-Walton CC, FL
Ronald Evans, 6-7, 185, SO, Shelby State CC, TN
Patrick Okafor, 6-8, 225, SO, Lee College, TX
APRIL 4, 2000
"Despite the crowd that followed him around, Buscher refused to buckle, and often just
outworked defenders for the ball," states the TimesOnline writeup on the first team
all-area selection from Chesterton high school. Brett Buscher averaged 21.4 points and 7.5
rebounds as a senior. Named to the Times all-area second team squad were Westside teammates
Brandon Cameron and Chris Hunter. Cameron, a 6-foot-0 sophomore guard, averaged 17.7 points
and six rebounds. The 6-foot-10 sophomore center Hunter, averaged 14.3 points and 11 boards.
For the second time this season, Purdue signee Shereka Wright has been named the nation's best
high school player. The latest award comes from USA Today, a day after she was given
the same honor by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Wright led 28-2 Copperas
Cove with 25.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. Fellow
Purdue signees Erica Valek and Cherrise Graham were both named second team all-americans by
USA TODAY. [USA Today][Journal and Courier]
April 3, 2000
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal has named Erica Valek their 2000 Player of the Year. [Photo]
The Austin American Statesman has named Shereka Wright the Player of the Year, and has a nice
article on her season and a special bond she has with Erica Valek. This is the second year
in a row Wright has been named the Austin POTY. Wright averaged 25.6 points and 10 rebounds
in her senior season, shooting .531 from the field and .731 from the line. [Austin360][Photo]
Purdue is in good shape with Tyler Junior College 6-foot-5 freshman Darmetreis Kilgore, who
names Purdue as an early choice in this South Bend Tribune article... [South Bend Tribune]
APRIL 2, 2000
Coming in 12th in the voting for a state Mr. Basketball award isn't normally something
extraordinary, unless it happens to be the Illinois Mr. Basketball award which does not
limit the voting to the senior class. While Westmont's Pierre Pierce did come in at No. 12,
he was the second-highest junior to receive votes. Pierce, who visited Purdue unofficially
last fall with Roger Powell Jr. (verbal commitment to Illinois), received two first place
votes and 48 votes total. That total puts him behind fellow junior Eddy Curry as the top two
favorites for the 2001 Illinois Mr. Basketball crown. Powell received 22 votes. Pierce
was also recently named second team all-state by the Chicago Tribune. [Chicago Tribune]
Junior Shyra Ely has been named the Indiana high school player of the year by Gatorade. Each
year Gatorade names the top player from each state to their Gatorade Circle of Champions
team. Purdue signees Cherrise Graham (Pennsylvania) and Shereka Wright (Texas) were also
recognized for being their state's top high school player.
Full Court Press has released their top 40 players in the Class of 2002. Of local
interest, Wawasee (IN) sophomore standout Shanna Zolman is rated the 4th best prospect in
the class. [Player Rankings]
Purdue prospect Angelina Williams of Washington (IL) has been named a second team all-state
player by the Chicago Tribune. The 6-foot-0 junior forward/center was also named all-state
third team by the Associated Press.
APRIL 1, 2000
Minnesota recruiting assistant Derek Thomas has resigned, and has been named the new
recruiting assistant at the University of Illinois. [Chicago Sun-Times]
A former recruit of Northwestern's Kevin O'Neill is now suing Northwestern and O'Neill
over a pulled scholarship offer. According to the father of former NU recruit Andrew
Coates, O'Neill pulled the offer following a poor performance at a Nike Camp last summer.
The issue on the table with the lawsuit is whether a verbal scholarship offer can be
considered a binding agreement. Currently, the school and recruit are not legally
bound until a letter-of-intent is signed during one of the NCAA signing periods.
Although unlikely, the case may change the idea that nothing is official in
collegiate recruiting until you sign on the dotted line. [Chicago Sun-Times]
MARCH 31, 2000
The Purdue Exponent has an article that briefly talks about the incoming recruits and
transfers that will be a part of the 00-01 Boiler squad. [Purdue Exponent]
Some more Purdue prospects have landed all-state honors from the Associated Press. Huntington
North's Sean Kline and Jeffersonville's Dennis Coutee gathered third team honors, while
Andre Patterson was named high honorable mention. Other players receiving votes were
Lafayette Central Catholic sophomores Tyler Best and Russell Trudeau, Peru's Brandon
Jones and West Lafayette senior Andrew Ford. Also keep an eye out for
Winchester sophomore Tyler Clevenger.
MARCH 30, 2000
A trio of Purdue recruits and prospects have been named to the Associated Press all-state
first team. Senior signee Shalicia Hurns, junior Shyra Ely and sophomore Shanna Zolman all
made the top list. South Bend junior star Jacqueline Batteast was a second team honoree.
Brett Buscher was named first team all-state by the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Austin Parkinson and John Standeford were both named to the third team. Indianapolis Pike's
Chris Thomas, a junior, made the second team. [TimesOnline]
The Indiana Basketball Association has released their 1999-2000 All-State team honors. Brett
Buscher was named to the first team, while Austin Parkinson was a second team selection.
The awards continue to roll in for Purdue prospects and recruits. Austin Parkinson, Brett
Buscher and John Standeford have all been named to the Hoosier Basketball Top 100 list.
Also named to the list is Andrew Ford, a 6-foot-3 guard from West Lafayette. Andrew is
the son of former Boilermaker Bob Ford, who played from 70-72 and was named All-Big Ten
First Team and an Academic All-American in 1972. Forty players plus ten alternates will
be chosen from the top 100 to play in the Top 40 Workout, a primer for the selection
of the 2000 Senior All-Star squad. The Top 40 Workout will be held at Pike High School
on April 15th beginning at 1:00pm. The workout will be open to the public.
Austin Parkinson, John Standeford and Brett Buscher will join 17 other top seniors on April
9th for the Reebok North/South All-Star Classic which will be held in Bill Green Arena at
Marion High School. Tip-off is set for 4:00pm. Buscher and Parkinson will both play for the
North squad, to be coached by Marion's Moe Smedley. Standeford will play on the South squad,
coached by his high school coach Chris Sampson. Parkinson has some comments about his teammates
in a recent article... [Kokomo Tribune]
MARCH 29, 2000
Brett Buscher came within five points of the Porter County scoring title this year, averaging
21.1 per game for a season total of 444 points. It was thought Buscher would pass Kouts'
Nick Satterblom during the IHSAA tournament, but Buscher's 16 points in his final game
wasn't enough. Ironically, five points under his season average against a team he scored
40 against back in December.
The Kokomo Tribune has named Austin Parkinson and Brandon Jones to their all-area team.
This is the fourth appearance for Parkinson and the second for the junior Jones. Both
are headed to Purdue, Parkinson on basketball scholarship and Jones on a football
scholarship. Parkinson, just the second player in history to be a four-time all-area
selection, averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 steals for the 13-6
Northwestern Tigers. Jones averaged 24.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals
for the 14-8 Peru Tigers. [Kokomo Tribune]
Junior center Andre Patterson of Concordia High has been named the Fort Wayne area
Player of the Year by the Fort Wayne Sentinel. The 6-foot-8 high school center, who
is still maturing, averaged 18.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game as a
junior. He is currently getting attention from Purdue, Kansas, Cincinnati, Maryland,
North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan and Duke. [News-Sentinel]
In what will be our last update on junior college forward Johnnie Selvie until he signs
with a school, Selvie is now only considering UConn, Louisville, South Florida, Xavier
and Michigan. [JuCo Junction]
Lafayette Central Catholic defeated Union Dugger 82-70 on Saturday to win the Class A state
title. The title is their second in three seasons, holding a 19-1 record over those three
seasons in tournament play. Tyler Best led Central Catholic with 21 points, 11 rebounds,
five assists and five steals. Best was followed by Eric Anthrop with 17 and Kristof Kendrick
with 15. Kendrick's game generated a little buzz among more than a few fans in attendance.
Russell Trudeau scored 13 points and pulled down 10 boards. Here are a few articles on
Central Catholic's state championship title...
The Journal and Courier's women's basketball beat writer has an article on how the
incoming recruits are expected to add quality and depth to the 00-01 Boilermakers. Curry
will have two of the top point guard recruits in the nation coming in, but is not ready to
relieve Komara of her starting point duties. Eventually Komara will go back to her shooting guard
spot, but not until the two incoming point guards replace high hopes and raw talent with
Division I experience. [Journal and Courier]
Shalicia Hurns has been named to the 2000 Indiana Senior All-Star team! Hurns will be joined
by 14 additional players in the annual home-and-home series against the Kentucky All-Stars
held this summer. This year the games are held on June 17 in Frankfort (KY) and June 24 in
Indianapolis. The All-Stars will also play in two exhibition games against the Indiana
Junior All-Star team on June 14 and 21. Among the players on the junior squad are Purdue
targets Jaqueline Batteast and Shyra Ely. Hurns was the leading scorer
(15.5 ppg) as a member of last season's Junior All-Star team. With two more names to be added
at a later date, here is the roster for the 2000 Indiana Senior All-Star team...
Shalicia Hurns, 6'3, Broad Ripple (HS)
Sara Nord, 5'5, Jeffersonville (HS)
Jennifer DesJean, 5'11, Perry Meridian (HS)
Johna Goff, 5'6, Mt. Vernon (HS)
Suzie Hammel, 5'7, Lebanon (HS)
Lynne Johnson, 5'11, Corydon Central (HS)
Kristi Koselke, 6'0, North Newton (HS)
Jessica Reiter, 6'2, Penn (HS)
Abby Scharlow, 5'8, New Albany (HS)
Lindsay Secrest, 5'10, Bloomfield (HS)
Sara Strahm, 5'10, Ben Davis (HS)
Anna Waugh, 5'6, Franklin (HS)
Natalie Yudt, 6'1, Portage (HS)
MARCH 28, 2000
Former Boilermaker Elisa Inman, who announced she would transfer at the end of the 99-00 season,
has chosen Rice University as her new home.
MARCH 24, 2000
Immanuel McElroy has two leaders and plans to visit both soon. Cincinnati and UNLV are
atop the list, with a handful of other schools still in the race including Purdue. McElroy
is scheduled to visit Cincinnati on April 14th, then visit UNLV the following weekend. Tyler
teammate Lamar Hill, a 6-foot-8 power player, hasn't mentioned Purdue in a while but is
currently setting up visits also. His first three will be Dayton (April 8), Tulsa and
Virginia Tech. [JuCo Junction]
Barton County's 6-foot-7 power forward Jackie Rogers has been waffling lately over his recent
verbal to UMASS, but despite his indecision it looks like the Boilers are still out of the
picture. [JuCo Junction]
MARCH 23, 2000
Wynter Whitley, a 6-foot-2 junior forward target, has won a trio of awards from the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Whitley was named to the all-metro prep team and the
newspaper's "Terrific Ten" squad. Whitley was also named the Class A Player-of-the-Year.
Wynter finished her junior season averaging 21.3 points, nine rebounds and 4.2 steals per
game.
Jeff Washburn has a story today about former assistant Frank Kendrick and former player
Doug Trudeau, and their similar schedules this weekend. Not only will both Boilers be
able to watch their alma mater play in the Sweet Sixteen this week, both will also
be watching their sons play in the IHSAA tournament championship game in Conseco. [Journal and Courier]
MARCH 22, 2000
The guard scholarship for the class of 2001 is Chris Thomas' for the asking, but another
high-profile junior guard is also showing interest in Purdue. Junior point guard Chris
Hernandez is a 6-foot-2 hustler from Clovis West HS (CA) who averaged 13.4 points, 6.8
assists, 3.0 steals and 3.1 rebounds per game until suffering a thumb injury on February
29. Nine stitches later and Hernandez was back averaging 20 points per game through the
state tournament. Clovis West made it to the finals, losing to De La Salle by one point
and ending their 21-game winning streak. Clovis West reached the top ten nationally this
season, but is currently rated at No. 11 by USA Today. Stanford has made Hernandez their
primary junior point target, with Purdue, UCLA, Kansas State, Fresno State, USC and Utah
also getting attention from Hernandez. A scouting report from the Fresno Bee described
Hernandez as "hard-working, tenacious and ultra-competitive. A great penetrator, passer
and rebounder. Can shoot the 3-pointer and play defense." Here are a few links that
mention Hernandez and Clovis West High...
Purdue assistant coach Jim Thrash is making sure 7-foot-0, 220-pound junior center Chris Jackson
knows Purdue is interested, by making several appearances at Los Alamos HS for practices
and games. Formerly the boys coach at Manzano, Thrash is familiar with the territory.
Jackson led all scorers with 22 points Saturday as Los Alamos (25-3) won the Class 3A
state championship over the Aztec Tigers (16-12). Jackson also had seven rebounds
and four blocks in the championship game. Over the course of the tournament, Jackson
averaged 23.5 points and 13.3 rebounds. Another stat that is sure to gain the respect of
Gene Keady is his 2.25 foul per game average and his 60-percent shooting from the line
in tournament play. The free-throw shooting percentage can be better, but how many big men
do you see that can't manage 50-percent from the line? Below are some articles to
familiarize us with Purdue's latest junior target...
Only one school left in the IHSAA tournament that we have been following, and that team is
Lafayette Central Catholic. Lafayette CC will face No. 3 Union Dugger (24-3) at 10:30am
on Saturday the 25th in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Knights won their way to the Class A
championship game by defeating Southern Wells [Journal and Courier] and Triton [Journal and Courier] in
the IHSAA semi-state round this past Saturday.
St. Louis junior forward David Lee has been invited to the 2000 Nike All-American Camp in
Indianapolis this summer. Lee, considered among the top forward prospects in his class, has
been getting attention from Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Purdue, Indiana and other top programs
this season. He will also be touring with the St. Louis Eagles AAU team this summer, a team
that regularly shows up at the Spiece Run N' Slam held every year on the campus of Purdue
University.
MARCH 19, 2000
Beth Jones capped off her high school career with a state championship last night as Mason
(OH) defeated defending state champion Pickerington 36-25. The 2000 Ohio Division I state
crown was the first title in three attempts for Jones, who also saw her team play in the
finals in 1997 and 1999 but come up empty-handed. Jones sat out of the 1999 championship
due to a dislocated knee suffered in the playoffs. Beth scored seven points and four
rebounds in the championship game, but more importantly helped Mason defensively shut
down Pickerington. In the semifinal game on Friday against No. 10 Cleveland East, Jones
scored 10 points in the 44-42 win. Mason finishes the season undefeated at 27-0, ranked
No. 1 in Ohio and No. 2 in the nation by USA Today. And they are the 2000 Ohio Division I
state champs! Congratulations Beth! [Cincinnati Enquirer]
Photo of Jones from the Cincinnati Enquirer - [Photo]
Andrean 77, Ft. Wayne Concordia 57 - Andre Patterson, despite being the focus of the
Andrean defense, scored a team-high 24 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in a 77-59
loss to No. 1 Andrean in semistate action. Patterson also stepped out to the perimeter
to hit Concordia's only three-pointer of the game. The defense did hold Andre to four
points in the first half, but couldn't hold him down for the whole game. [TimesOnline]
Back four years ago when Purdue signed the incoming class of Mike Robinson, Gary
McQuay, Jaraan Cornell and Mosi Barnes, the class was just a center away from being
complete. Jamaal Magloire (Kentucky) and Jake Voskuhl (UCONN) were pursued to fill the
final piece of the puzzle, but so was Oklahoma's Renzi Stone who faced the Boilers
in the NCAA tournament last night. In a recent article, Jeff Washburn got to talk
to Stone about his recruitment and thoughts on Purdue's program. [Journal and Courier]
MARCH 18, 2000
Ben Davis juniors Shyra Ely and Ashley Allen long with South Bend forward Jacqueline
Batteast have been selected to the junior all-star core team that will play two
exhibition games against the senior all-star team this summer. Joining the three on the
six-member core team are Cathedral's Jill Corbett, Highland's Jenny DeMuth and Evansville
Memorial's Kate Endress. The six-member core team will be joined in each game by an
additional six players. The games are scheduled to be played on June 14 and 21, at sites
yet to be announced. The two additional teams are as follows...
North squad
Rachel King, G, Fort Wayne Luers HS
Candace Williams, G, Lebanon HS
Courtney Rosenbaum, C, Valparaiso HS
Ebba Gebisa, F, West Lafayette HS
Kelly Springer, F, Leo HS
Cassie Kline, G, Huntington North HS
South squad:
Shyra Samuels, G, North Central HS
Nina Stone, G, Pike HS
Racquel Morgan, F, Anderson Highland HS
Maria Rickards, F, New Albany HS
Sara Riedeman, G, Greensburg HS
Kali Carter, G, Columbus East HS
MARCH 17, 2000
Vincennes (31-5) advances to the fifth place game on Saturday with a 97-96 victory over College
of Southern Idaho in the NJCAA National Tournament. Cam Stephens, again plagued by foul trouble
after picking up two fouls within the first few minutes of the game, finished with 7 points
and 7 rebounds. Oklahoma signee Aaron McGhee had another dominant game scoring 44 points, and
according to several coaches in attendance, is hands down the MVP of the national tournament.
[JuCo Junction]
Vincennes fell to Kankakee, IL in the NJCAA tournament, 79-71. The loss dropped Vincennes into
a losers bracket to face Jim Thrash's old junior college program, College of Southern Idaho
late Thursday night. Vincennes made a nine point run in the middle of the second half to cut
the Kankakee lead to three points, but could get no closer. Cam Stephens fouled out of the
game with 10 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe, which left Vincennes no
comparable option to match Stephens' rebounding. Cam had 14 rebounds in the loss.
[JuCo Junction]
Stephens has again failed to list Purdue among his choices, this time giving a list of
six programs to Russ Blake. The six schools now being mentioned by Cam are UNC-Charlotte,
UMass, Xavier, Oklahoma, Ball State and Long Beach State. Vincennes teammate Aaron McGhee
has signed to play for Oklahoma, and Ball State continues to be the closest program to
his family. [JuCo Junction]
New Castle 95, Indianapolis Pike 77 - Indianapolis Pike could do little to stop the
offensive accuracy of New Castle in a blowout loss in regional action Wednesday.
New Castle shot an unbelievable 78 percent from the perimeter, hitting a record 14
three-pointers in a row. Chris Thomas led all scorers with 28 points and eight rebounds.
[Indianapolis Star]
Purdue is still on the list of Indianapolis Pike's Chris Thomas, along with Indiana, Iowa,
Arizona, Stanford, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Duke. Thomas has visited Purdue, Indiana
and Notre Dame on several occasions, and is still interested in visiting Iowa, Arizona and
Stanford. [Insiders Report]
Big Ten Recruiting: Rumors on the Minnesota boards claim the Gophers have received an early verbal
commitment from junior shooting guard Luke Anderson of Eagan HS (MN). The 6-foot-5 scorer
averaged 21 points per game as a junior. According to Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis
Star-Tribune, Gopher head Dan Monson is currently at the NJCAA tournament scouting
6-foot-7 forward Johnnie Selvie. Selvie has narrowed his list to a select few, including
Louisville and South Florida.
MARCH 16, 2000
Wednesday's regional championship scores:
Monrovia 75, Western Boone 72 OT
New Castle 95, Indianapolis Pike 77
Fort Wayne Concordia 48, Northridge 47
Jeffersonville 64, Evansville Reitz 40
Lafayette Catholic 55, Caston 49
Monrovia 75, Western Boone 72 OT - Monrovia is winning the tournament the hard way, playing
in their third straight overtime game. Key to the game was a 38-15 rebounding advantage
in favor of Monrovia, as John Standeford led all rebounders with 12. John shot just over
50-percent from the field for a total of 20 points, shooting perfectly from the line (3-3)
and the perimeter (1-1). Monrovia (21-3) moves on to a Saturday semi-state matchup with Paoli (19-7) at
Southridge. Paoli bounced Monrovia from the tournament last season. [Indianapolis Star]
Fort Wayne Concordia 48, Northridge 47 - Concordia won their first regional title in a decade
by sinking a go-ahead freethrow with nine seconds remaining in the game. Despite sitting
a large portion of the game due to picking up three early fouls, Andre Patterson led
Concordia with 18 points. Concordia moves on to face Andrean (22-2) , the No. 1 team in
Class 3A. The game is set for Saturday at Frankfort's Case Arena, tip-off at 10:30am.
MARCH 15, 2000
A junior college scorer will likely fill an available scholarship this spring with the Boilers
as Keady would like to bank the additional one for next season. Immanuel McElroy, a 6'4
wing player from Tyler J.C., will soon be narrowing his list from six to four. Right now,
Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Arizona, Cincinnati, Purdue and UNLV are on his final list.
Once the list has been reduced to four, McElroy will take some visits and make a decision.
[JuCo Junction]
Also on JuCo Junction is an update for 6-foot-8 post player Lamar Hill of Tyler J.C., who
had previously mentioned getting some attention from Purdue. On the new list, Purdue is
not listed. However, Bruce Weber's Southern Illinois Salukis are mentioned. [JuCo Junction]
Vincennes advances in the NJCAA Tournament with a 80-76 victory over No. 5 San Jacinto.
Cameron Stephens scored nine of his 13 points in the second half, and pulled down 15 rebounds.
Stephens was joined in double figures by Oklahoma recruit Aaron McGhee, who had a game high
40 points and 17 rebounds. Stephens is averaging 12.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists
per game for Vincennes this season. Vincennes will next face Kankakee, IL at 6:30pm on
Wednesday. For a complete bracket of the NJCAA Tournament... [Bracket]
An article in the Cincinnati Enquirer last week stating Jamaal Davis had verbally committed
to the University of Cincinnati, is reportedly false. In a recent conversation with Davis,
Russ Blake of JuCo Junction found out Davis is still open and ready to take some visits.
Then... [Cincinnati Enquirer],
and now... [JuCo Junction]
MARCH 14, 2000
Here's a list of this week's regional matchups of interest. All games will
be played on Wednesday, March 15, tipoff at 7:00pm. Regional champs will move on to
semi-state competition on Saturday March 18th.
Saturday's semi-state sites noted in parenthesis (*).
Indianapolis Pike (18-5) at New Castle (17-6) (Hinkle Fieldhouse)
Jeffersonville (20-2) at Evansville Reitz (16-7) (Hinkle Fieldhouse)
Northridge (18-4) at Fort Wayne Concordia (16-5) (Frankfort)
Western Boone (14-9) at Monrovia (20-3) (Southridge)
Caston (11-11) at Lafayette Central Catholic (19-5) (Kokomo)
Monrovia 76, Cascade 74 - John Standeford sealed the Monrovia victory with two freethrows
with four seconds remaining in overtime, helping the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs into regional
action on Tuesday. Standeford scored 28 on 5-of-9 shooting from the perimeter and 60-percent
from the floor overall, adding 9 boards. [Indianapolis Star]
Several prospects and signees are ranked among the top scorers in the state, according to
new numbers released by the IHSAA. As of games played through March 13, here's how a few
players rate in scoring...
#7 John Standeford, 26.1 ppg (6th among seniors)
#16 Brandon Jones, 24.2 ppg (2nd among juniors)
#17 Chris Thomas, 24.1 ppg (3rd among juniors)
#31 Sean Kline, 22.2 ppg (7th among juniors)
#40 Brett Buscher, 21.1 ppg
#52 Austin Parkinson, 20.3 ppg
#54 Dennis Coutee, 20.0 ppg
Also, Brandon Jones' 37 point outburst against Maconaquah this past Saturday was the second
best offensive output of the tournament this year.
MARCH 13, 2000
Women's Basketball News Service has named a trio of Purdue signees to their all-american teams.
Erika Valek and Shereka Wright were named first team all-american, while Cherrise Graham of
Archbishop Carroll made the second team.
Barton County's 6-foot-7 forward Jackie Rogers, once looking at Purdue, has narrowed his
list to three programs...Louisville, UMASS and St. Bonaventure. [JuCo Junction]
We've been hearing the name of Travis Spivey for a month now, but have also heard of his
infatuation with Rick Majerus and the Utes. Today, Russ Blake has confirmed what some
have seen as inevitable...Spivey is Utah bound. The 6-foot-2 point guard from Salt Lake
City C.C. was recently named the SWAC player of the year. [JuCo Junction]
Detroit Pershing senior big man Darius Manciel hasn't mentioned Purdue in quite a while
now, and according to this update, is favoring Ohio State, Xavier and TCU with Iowa and
Fordham lagging a bit behind the leaders. [Midwest Hoops]
Every now and then, we will try to keep Purdue fans updated on the recruiting efforts of
some of the coaches who have come up under Gene Keady and have moved on to head their own
programs. Not only have Purdue fans grown familiar with these coaches from either seeing
them play or watching them coach on the sideline, but it is interesting to follow their
progress because some will be named as potential successors once Gene Keady decides to
retire...something we hope will not be soon.
Stallings Update: Kevin Stallings has received a verbal commitment from California
point guard Russell Lakey of Harvard Westlake HS. The 6-foot-0 senior averaged 24 points
and six assists for Westlake, who finished the season at 22-6. Lakey chose Vandy over a host
of academic scholarship offers from the Ivy League.
MARCH 12, 2000
Mason 52, Beavercreek 49 OT - Beavercreek finishes the year at 23-3, with two losses now
coming at the hands of No. 1 Mason. Michelle Munoz led Mason with 23 points. Beth Jones added
five points. Mason advances to the state Final Four at Ohio State's Value City Arena in
Columbus. Their opponent will be No. 10 Cleveland East Tech (24-1). [Cincinnati Enquirer][Dayton Daily News]
A couple photos of Beth Jones from the Beavercreek game... [Photo 1][Photo 2]
Pickerington 53, Trotwood-Madison 31 - Trotwood-Madison's first loss of the 99-00 season
was also their last, falling to Pickerington in the Regional final game. Tiffanie Guthrie
led all scorers with 17 points, but no other T-M player could manage more than four points
for the game. The Dayton Daily News referred to Pickerington's defense as "so tight it
could have kept sandwiches fresh." Trotwood-Madison ends the season at 24-1.
[Dayton Daily News]
The Kokomo Tribune has some final comments on the high school career of Howard County's
second most prolific career scorer, Austin Parkinson.
[Kokomo Tribune]
Saturday's sectional championship games:
Indianapolis Pike 71, Noblesville 60 - Pike ousted the team who ousted them from
sectionals last year, beating Noblesville 71-60. Chris Thomas had 20 points on
9-of-18 shooting. Pike moves on to play either New Castle or Richmond, a game
postponed until Monday due to snow. [Indianapolis Star]
Fort Wayne Concordia 57, Fort Wayne Wayne 56 - A controversial holding call with a second
left on the clock sent Andre Patterson to the line, where he sank two freethrows to give
Concordia the victory. Patterson finished with 18 points and five blocked shots. [Journal Gazette]
Maconaquah 81, Peru 78, OT - Peru fell to #1 Maconaquah on Saturday in overtime, when a
last second three-pointer from Brandon Jones bounced up off the front of the rim and fell
in the hands of a Maconaquah rebounder. Jones finished his junior season with a bang,
scoring a game-high 37 points in the loss. With Jones' 37 on Saturday combined with
a 29 point outburst against Norwell on Friday, Jones moves into third place among junior
scorers in the state behind Pike's Chris Thomas. Jones and Thomas are the early favorites
to be named as guards for the Junior All-Star core squad that will play in two scrimmages
against the Indiana All-Star senior squad this summer. [Kokomo Tribune]
Postponed due to snow (moved to Monday, March 13):
Cascade (11-11) vs Monrovia (19-3)
Laf. Catholic (18-5) vs Clinton Prairie (17-4)
MARCH 11, 2000
Friday's results:
Lafayette Catholic 52, Indy Park Tudor 49
Fort Wayne Concordia 68, New Haven 62
Monrovia 85, South Putnam 74 2OT
Indy Pike 83, Indy North Central 55
Peru 95, Norwell 81
Taylor 63, Northwestern 53
Anderson Highland 50, Huntington North 46
Munster 70, Gary West 68
LaPorte 63, Chesterton 54
Milwaukee Vincent 50, Nicolet 43
Taylor 63, Northwestern 53 - Parkinson's game numbers in the last game of his high school
career ironically mirrored his season stats...19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and
five steals. Taylor used a critical 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead,
despite a couple of Northwestern mini-runs of their own. In the Kokomo Tribune, Taylor
coach Jeff Fisher praised Northwestern, adding "Austin Parkinson is the best player
we've ever played against."[Kokomo Tribune]
Pike 83, North Central 55 - Chris Thomas had a game-high 24 points and Rodney Smith's
younger brother Parnell Smith added 16 points as Pike cruised to victory over the
defending 4A state champs.
Monrovia 85, South Putnam 74 2OT - It took two overtime periods, but the No. 1 Monrovia
Bulldogs won their sectional semifinal game over South Putnam. John Standeford led all
scorers with 31 points.
Lafayette Catholic 52, Indy Park Tudor 49 - With the score tied at 49, senior guard
Richard Gilman hit a three with one second remaining to give the Knights the victory.
Russell Trudeau finished with a team-high 12 points and seven boards, Tyler Best added 9 points
and seven boards, and Kristof Kendrick threw in 7 points. [Journal and Courier]
Munster 70, Gary West 68 - Both Brandon Cameron and Chris Hunter fouled out of their
semifinal game against Munster, Hunter leaving with 6.5 seconds remaining due to an
offensive charge. Cameron had 17 points and a team-high three steals before his early exit
with the 6-foot-10 Hunter adding seven points and seven rebounds. [TimesOnline]
LaPorte 63, Chesterton 54 - Brett Buscher ended his high school career with 16 points on
7-of-19 shooting, nine rebounds and a steal as Chesterton fell to LaPorte. Chesterton
ran out to a 16-0 lead, but the experience of LaPorte had all but erased the deficit
by halftime. The key to the game for LaPorte was shooting 14-of-16 from the freethrow
line in the fourth quarter. There's no shot clock in high school ball, so if you can
get a decent lead going into the fourth and manage to hit almost all of your freethrows,
the last quarter can mean a lot of dribbling. Chesterton finishes the season 11-10.
[News-Dispatch][TimesOnline]
Milwaukee Vincent 50, Nicolet 43 - Nicolet made a run at Vincent, but it wasn't enough
to overcome a good game by Quemont Greer and Vincent. Joe Tucker had 15 points in
the loss.
MARCH 10, 2000
Mason (OH) is still alive in the Ohio state tournament. Next up is a regional championship
game against Beavercreek (23-2) Saturday at Wright State University. Mason advances to
the championship from a March 5th 53-47 victory over St. Ursula, and a 68-19 blowout
victory of Northmont. Against St. Ursula, Beth Jones had 16 points, eight rebounds and three
assists. She scored a game-high 21 points against Northmont on 8-of-15 shooting, hitting
five from longrange. A large reason for Mason's continued success is the production of
guards Jones and Illinois recruit Jere Issenmann when center Michelle Munoz goes to
the bench with foul trouble. Munoz is the season scoring leader for Mason, but it has been
Issenmann as top scorer Saturday and Jones on Tuesday. [Cincinnati Enquirer]
Trotwood-Madison is also still in it, looking forward to a Saturday matchup with
Pickerington. Tiffanie Guthrie had a game high 21 points against Patterson, in a game
that featured no made shots from the perimeter. On Tuesday Guthrie scored another 23
points and pulled down 12 boards to go along with five steals and three assists.
The potential for a Trotwood-Madison and Mason matchup could happen in the state final
four, if both teams make it to the final game of the tournament. [Active Dayton]
Lindsey Hicks and Beth Jones were both named to the Southwest Ohio all-district team by
the Cincinnati Enquirer. Hicks was named to the first team, while Jones received second
team honors.
A dozen tournament games are on the schedule tonight featuring Purdue signees, recruits
and prospects. Here's a preview of tonight's Northwestern vs. Taylor matchup ...
[Kokomo Tribune]
A story in the Purdue Exponent talks about the addition of the three transfers you see
sitting behind the bench at every game...Joe Marshall, Travis Best and Willie Deane.
[Exponent]
MARCH 9, 2000
Some final comments from our Shereka Wright source at the end of her entertaining high school
career..."Having watched Shereka Wright over the years in about 60-70 games it was a
pleasure to watch her match up against Purdue-bound Erica Valek in the Regional
semifinal game. Wright showed her quickness and versatility by moving out to the point
on defense to guard Valek (which took her 25 feet away from the defensive boards), and
Valek went inside defensively to try to stop Wright. It was a classic matchup of two
super ballplayers who will join forces at Purdue. The game was extremely physical
(54 fouls whistled) and played late in the evening. With her point guard on the bench
in foul trouble, Wright moved outside to help bring the ball down court against the
press. The Winner (Cove) had to be back on the court for the final at 1pm the following
afternoon, and never got untracked. Wright finished her career in 23rd place all-time
nationally in scoring. I am sure that Wright and Valek will be welcome additions to the
Purdue program and look forward to coverage of their careers. Regards from Texas."
(scouting report by anonymous)
Northwestern (16-5) won their first round sectional match with Eastern, 70-48. Parkinson
led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, plus added seven assists, six steals,
three rebounds and one turnover. Austin's season averages now increase to 20.6 points,
7.2 assists, 3.8 steals and 4.7 rebounds, maintaining a 3-to-1 assist-to-tournover ratio.
Austin moves into second place on the Howard County career scorers list with 1,648 points,
surpassing Jimmy Rayl at 1,632. Kokomo's Jim Ligon holds the top spot with 1,900 points.
Northwestern moves on to play Class 2A No. 10 Taylor on Friday. The two teams split their
two confrontations earlier this season. Game summary: [Kokomo Tribune]
Chris Thomas scored 30 points in Pike's 103-55 blowout of Carmel (6-15). Pike plays
North Central (6-14) on Friday.
No. 4 Lafayette Central Catholic moves on to a Friday sectional matchup with No. 9 Park
Tudor, after a Tuesday night 75-51 victory over Rossville. Russell Trudeau led all scorers
with 32 points and near perfect shooting. Sophomore Tyler Best had nine points and nine
boards. Game summary: [Journal and Courier]
All-Illinois guard Pierre Pierce had 36 point for the game, including scoring the final
17 Westmont points, and 11 rebounds in an Illinois supersectional loss to Bishop McNamara,
64-53. Westmont ends their season 28-2.
Former Boiler Jamaal Davis has verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati. Davis
is averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds for Barton County Junior College, rated the best
team in Division I junior college men's basketball. Barton's season came to an end on
Tuesday when they went down to Independence 81-75 in the Region VI championship game.
Speaking of Barton County, Carlton "Oodie" Baker is being looked at by Purdue, along with
Kentucky, Fresno State, Florida, Cincinnati, Michigan, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas State and
Texas Tech. Recruiting USA is saying Fresno State may be one of the favorites with
Purdue showing strong interest. Baker, an explosive forward from East Chicago (IN) and
also a former AAU teammate of Kenny Lowe and Austin Parkinson, is a juco freshman and
will have one more year on that level before being able to qualify for Division I
eligibility. Baker leads the No. 1 Cougars with an 18 point per game average.
MARCH 8, 2000
Here's a rundown of some of the upcoming sectional games for recruits and prospects...
Friday's games:
Gary West vs. Munster
Chesterton vs. LaPorte
Huntington North vs. Anderson Highland
Fort Wayne Concordia vs. New Haven
Norwell vs. Peru
Monrovia vs. South Putnam
Lafayette Catholic vs. Indy Park Tudor
Northwestern vs. Taylor
Indy Pike vs. Indy North Central
Nicolet vs. Homestead
Junior college wing prospect Immanuel McElroy was named to the Region XIV all-tournament
team, Tyler J.C. was bounced from the Region XIV tournament by eventual champ San Jacinto
Junior College.
The final IHSAA poll is out and Monrovia continues to lead the pack among 2A schools.
Northwestern is ranked 9th in Class 2A. Among other schools of interest, Indianapolis
Pike (15-5) comes in at No. 8 in Class 4A, Andre Patterson and Fort Wayne Concordia are
ranked No. 9 in Class 3A, and Lafayette Central Catholic (16-5) ranks fourth in Class 1A.
[Indianapolis Star]
Cherrise Graham and Archbishop Carroll won the Catholic League Division championship
with a 52-42 victory over Cardinal O'Hara. Graham scored a game-high 22 points, 10 rebounds,
four assists and four steals. It was their third win of the season against O'Hara, and their
first League crown in 21 years. Game summary: [Philly Daily News][Philly Inquirer]
MARCH 7, 2000
Jacqueline Batteast, who was recently named the MVP of the Northern Indiana Conference,
was named metro player-of-the-year by the South Bend Tribune. The honor for area
player-of-the-year went to sophomore Shanna Zolman of Wawasee. Batteast finished the season
averaging 21 points and an area best 14 rebounds, while Zolman led the state in scoring
for a second straight year , averaging 33 points. [South Bend Tribune]
From here on out, Austin Parkinson's high school career is potentially one game away from
ending. The Kokomo Tribune has a new article on his improvement this season, and his
consistency in certain areas over his career. Coming up on his 93rd consecutive start,
Austin has a career assist average of 7.2 per game, is shooting 42-percent from the perimeter
and 52-percent overall, holds the Northwestern school records for career scoring, steals and
assists, and is 11 points away from surpassing Jimmy Rayl and becoming the second best
career scorer in Howard County history. [Kokomo Tribune]
Tyler J.C. moves on to the Region XIV semifinals with a 89-81 win over Jacksonville J.C.
Immanuel McElroy had a game-high 25 points. Also interesting to note is that former
South Bend Washington HS standout Darmetreis Kilgore had 15 points in the win for
Tyler. [JuCo Junction]
Erika Valek has been named the Texas District 3-5A player of the year! [Lubbock Online]
MARCH 5, 2000
Coach Keady was in attendance to scout Sean Kline on Friday night. Huntington North
beat visiting East Chicago 55-48 behind 27 points and 22 rebounds from Kline. When asked
by the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette if Keady's attendance motivated him, Kline replied
"(Having Keady in attendance) was a little extra motivation. It was nice to have him here,
but I can't get caught up in that. I just have to take care of business."[Journal-Gazette]
Lafayette Central Catholic, featuring a trio of players of interest to most Purdue fans,
defeated No. 6 Attica 53-50 with help from the line from Russell Trudeau. Russell is the
son of Doug Trudeau, who played for the Boilers in the mid-sixties. The younger Trudeau
led Central Catholic with 17 points. Purdue prospect Tyler Best had 11 points. His father
tells us he has yet to regain his complete vision from a December eye infection that
forced him to sit out several games. Kristof Kendrick, son of former Purdue assistant
coach Frank Kendrick, had 2 points in an unusually unproductive evening. [Journal and Courier]
Ben Davis finished the season undefeated, taking the Indiana Class 4A title from No. 5
Valparaiso, 56-53. Shyra Ely led the Giants with 21 points and 11 rebounds before
fouling out. Ashley Allen, with four fouls and 11 seconds remaining, converted a
back-door play and a rebound putback to score Ben Davis' final four points to overcome
a one point Valparaiso end of game lead. [Indianapolis Star]
In a rematch of the 1999 Catholic League championship, Archbishop Carroll (23-3) will face
Cardinal O'Hara (22-6) on Tuesday night, March 7th. O'Hara is the defending champion, but
Carroll has beaten O'Hara twice already this season. Carroll's last championship came in
1979. Cherrise Graham had eight points in a 51-25 semifinal victory over Archbishop Ryan.
Graham has already been named the 2000 MVP of the Catholic League.
Normally we have a standing rule on this site about not tracking prospects until the
end of their freshman year in high school. We just don't think they need that kind of
attention and the associated pressure that comes with it. But this prospect needs to
be given a mention, only to illustrate how far out some programs track their prospects.
Camille Lenoire is a highly regarded 5-foot-5 middle schooler in Los Angeles, which
makes her in the class of 2004. That is two years before we would even think of
following her on this site. However, a few top programs are already keeping their eyes
on her even though she has yet to matriculate to high school. Lenoire has already
received letters from Connecticut, Louisiana Tech and Purdue.
MARCH 4, 2000
The Indianapolis Star has an article on Ben Davis' Ashley Allen and a preview of tonight's
Class 4A state final matchup between No.1 Ben Davis (27-0) and No. 4 Valparaiso (25-1).
It is almost unfair how much athleticism Allen has. If you do not come out to guard her,
she will put up a shot. She is a scorer at heart. However, if you play her too closely,
her quickness will take her right around you to the basket. This is particularly effective
matched up with Shyra Ely in the post. If Allen gets around her defender and the post
defender comes to help, Ely is left open under the basket. Allen's passing can sometimes
be risky, but a high Division I prospect none-the-less. [Indianapolis Star]
Today's Times Online has a sectional preview for the Region teams, including all-sectional
honor teams. Gary West will play in the East Chicago sectional, after a first round bye,
on Friday at 7:30pm against Munster (16-4). Named to the all-sectional team were West's
Brandon Cameron and Chris Hunter. Cameron, a 6'0 sophomore guard, is averaging 17.2
points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and shooting 48-percent from the perimeter. Hunter,
a 6'10 sophomore center, adds 15.2 points per game, 11.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
Chesterton's Brett Buscher was named to the Michigan City all-sectional team, averaging
21.4 points and 7.5 rebounds. Chesterton (11-8) was awarded a first round bye and will face
LaPorte (13-6) at 7:30pm on Friday. The winner goes to the finals on Saturday at 7:30pm.
If LaPorte takes the same strategy against Chesterton they did in Conseco this season,
look for Buscher to have another career night. LaPorte won in the March Classic by
not making Buscher the focus of the defense, instead choosing to tightly play the rest of
the Chesterton team. Buscher scored 40, but LaPorte prevailed.
Andre Patterson continues to be one of the top players in the Fort Wayne area. Patterson
leads the Summit Athletic Conference in total rebounds (10.3), offensive rebounds (4.2)
and blocked shots (4.1). Patterson also ranks fourth in scoring with a 18.9 per game
average. Concordia (14-5) will play New Haven next Friday in sectional action.
MARCH 3, 2000
Northwestern completed the regular season on Thursday with a 74-60 victory over Hamilton
Heights. Parkinson scored a career-high 32 points, adding nine assists and six rebounds.
Northwestern ends the regular season at 15-5, and begins play in the IHSAA tournament
next Tuesday at 6pm. Also in attendance for the game were Purdue's Bob King and Roger
Blaylock. [Kokomo Tribune]
Chesterton dropped the final game of the regular season to No. 1 Andrean on Thursday,
62-54. Brett Buscher led Chesterton with 22 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the field.
[Gary Post Tribune]
The Indianapolis Star has released the 1999-2000 girls Super Team which includes several
Purdue prospects and one signee. Eleven players from the Indianapolis area were chosen by
polling area coaches. Broad Ripple's 6-foot-4 Shalicia Hurns was named to the team,
averaging 19.6 points per game this season. Among the prospects chosen for the team are
6-foot-2 junior post Shyra Ely of Ben Davis (19.6 ppg) and 5-foot-10 junior forward
Ashley Allen (17.0 ppg). Ely was also named the Indianapolis Player-of-the-Year. A couple
of other players to keep an eye on who made the team include 6-foot-0 Beech Grove freshman
Katie Gearlds and 5-foot-7 Cathedral sophomore Sharika Webb. [Indy Star]
MARCH 2, 2000
We received a nice note today from Bob Hicks, expressing his thanks to the Purdue fans keeping track of
Lindsey over the past year. Lebanon's season has come to an end, and Lindsey is looking
forward to joining the Purdue family. Lindsey finished the season averaging 23.5 points,
7.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She shot 181-296 (.611) from the field, 80-93 (.860)
from the line, and 33-93 (.350) from the perimeter.
Among Indiana's top 25 scorers through February 26th, a Purdue recruit and
prospect rate highly. John Standeford ranks ninth at 25.7 points per game, followed
Chris Thomas at 23.7 points per game (19th). [IHSAA leaders]
MARCH 1, 2000
Three Purdue recruits have been selected to play in this year's Pheonix/WBCA High School
All-American game on Saturday April 8th. Twenty of the nation's top seniors will gather
at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, divide into two teams and play
in a college-style regulation game. Playing for the Red Team are 5-foot-7 guard Cherrise
Graham and 5-foot-6 point guard Erica Valek, who will be joined by Illinois signee and
former Purdue target Anne O'Neil. National player-of-the-year candidate Shereka Wright
will play for the White Team, and will be also be joined by an Illinois signee, 6-foot-1
forward Aminata Yanni of Machesney Park, Illinois. Purdue and Illinois were the only two
Big Ten programs to have players selected for the game. Purdue, Duke and Connecticut
led all programs, sending three players a piece. The ninth annual Pheonix/WBCA High School
All-American game is scheduled to tip-off at 12:00pm EST and will be broadcast nationally
by ESPN2. [WBCA Press Release]
FEBRUARY 29, 2000
Andre Patterson had a monster night against Harding, scoring 41 points in the 80-78 Concordia
victory. Patterson also added 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots before fouling out of the
game. [box score]
Indiana sophomore Shanna Zolman comes in at No. 4 among the best prospects in the Class of
2002 as rated by Full Court Press. The all-state guard finished her season leading the
state in scoring with 33.0 points per game. [Full Court Press]
FEBRUARY 27, 2000
A cold shooting night for Peru put them too far down to ever climb back into the game on Friday
against Taylor. Taylor led 47-14 at the half, and went on to beat Peru 89-51. Steve Smiley led
Peru with 20 points. Brandon Jones was held to just 10 points. Peru came into the game scoring
an average of 82.8 points per game (2nd in the state). Through 19 games, Jones now averages
23.6 points per game. [Kokomo Tribune]
Two teams featuring two Purdue women's recruits will not meet in the Ohio state
tournament...for now. Yesterday had Shereka Wright's
Copperas Cove team going up against Erica Valek's Coronado team in the Texas
state tournament. However, the possible next round matchup between Beth Jones'
Mason and Lindsey Hicks' Lebanon was ended at the hands of Cincinnati St. Ursula.
Ursula beat Lebanon 77-60 in the lower bracket of the Division I sectional.
Mason had won the upper bracket on Friday. Despite 41 points from Hicks,
Lebanon could not find anyone else to compliment her offense against a balanced
scoring attack from Ursula. A great quote in today's Cincinnati Enquirer had
Ursula head coach Tim Ballinger saying he could have sent Michael Jordan out to
guard Hicks and come away unsuccessful. Still a possibility for a two-recruit
matchup is the potential for Mason to eventually meet Trotwood-Madison, featuring
Tiffanie Guthrie, and all-state junior interested in the Boilers. Madison defeated
Patterson 77-38 in action on Saturday. Game summary: [Cincinnati Enquirer]
Ben Davis is heading for the state finals. The Giants ran the table on Saturday
in the IHSAA semistate, defeating No. 3 New Albany and No. 5 Center Grove.
Shyra Ely had 21 points and 17 rebounds against New Albany, and 20 points and
15 rebounds against Center Grove. Junior Ashley Allen led Ben Davis against
Center Grove with with 21 points. Ben Davis moves on to the state finals
against No. 4 Valparaiso (25-1) in Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday, March 4th.
The Class 4A game has an approximate start time of 8:00pm (or following the
Class 3A game which starts at 6:30pm). Tickets will be on sale on game day at
Hinkle Fieldhouse. Tickets to see just two games of the series, either the
Class 1A and 2A games or the Class 3A and 4A games, are $10.00. Tickets to see
all four games are $15.00. Semistate summary: [Indianapolis Star]
For the second year in a row, Mansfield punched Copperas Cove's tournament ticket
an defeated them 52-47. Cove got 21 points and 11 rebounds from Shereka Wright,
but she shot a meager 6-of-21 from the field for the game. Copperas Cove ends the
season at 28-2.
FEBRUARY 26, 2000
The clash between Erica Valek and Shereka Wright materialized on Friday night,
the favorite coming away the winner. Coronado fell to the Lady Bulldogs of
Copperas Cove 72-60 in the regional semifinal of the Region I-5A tournament.
The key to Coronado's success this season has been their ability to force
turnovers from their pressure defense, a defense that has forced as many as
40 turnovers in back-to-back games this season. At times it worked against
Copperas Cove, but the aggressive defense forced Valek to sit for periods of
time because of foul trouble. Valek eventually fouled out with 22 points.
Wright finished with a game-high 42 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 24-of-31
shots from the freethrow line. Coronado's season ends with a record of 27-6,
while Copperas Cove moves on to the Region I final against nemesis Mansfield
(33-2) today (Saturday) at 1:00pm. Manfield ousted Copperas Cove from the
tournament last season and is the defending Texas 5A champion. Complete game
summary: [Lubbock Online]
Mason (Beth Jones) - Ohio's top team and the nation's No. 2 team according to
USA TODAY Mason HS, won their fifth straight sectional title with a 69-35
win over Withrow (16-6). Mason was led on the interior by Michelle Munoz with
27 points, followed by Beth Jones with 11 points. Next game: A win today by
Lindsey Hicks' Lebanon team will set up another clash between two Purdue
signees. Mason advances to play the winner of the Lebanon/St. Ursula game in
the Division I district title game at noon March 4 at Wilmington College.
Keady has received a commitment from 6-foot-7 small forward Corey Sears of Hargrave Military
Academy. Sears and his father visited recently and decided to accept an invitation to
walk-on with the team next season. Sears averages 16 points, six rebounds and five assists
for Hargrave.
FEBRUARY 25, 2000
Archbishop Carroll (Cherrise Graham) - Carroll defeated Shanahan (19-5) in non-league
play last Tuesday, 78-46. The night featured very balanced scoring on the part of
Carroll. Ten players scored, the high being 14 points with the average output of 7
points per player. Cherrise finished with nine on the evening. Several tournament-bound
teams have also held non-league scrimmages this week to prepare for the state
tournament schedule that begins this weekend. Carroll received a first round bye in
the tournament. Also this week, Cherrise Graham was named most valuable player of the
Catholic League Southern Division. Next game: 2/25 vs. West Catholic in the
quarterfinal round of the Catholic League playoffs.
Ben Davis (Shyra Ely and Ashley Allen) - A sign of a good team is still managing a
blowout victory with your top athlete having a horrible night. Shyra Ely was just
1-of-10 from the floor with 5 points on the night, but Ben Davis still pulled away
with a 50-37 win mainly due to a 15 point game from Ashley Allen and 14 points from
Sara Strahm. Ely still dominated the boards with 11 rebounds. Next game: on to
semistate action Saturday afternoon against No. 3 New Albany. The winner of that
game will play the winner of the Center Grove (20-3) / Richmond (19-4) game at
8:15pm Saturday night in the semistate championship game.
Copperas Cove (Shereka Wright) - Shereka Wright scored 33 points and pulled down 20
rebounds in a 65-42 win over DeSoto. Copperas Cove is now 27-1. Next game: 2/25 vs.
fellow Purdue signee Erica Valek and Coronado.
Coronado (Erica Valek) - Coronado (27-5) has earned a matchup with Texas No.1 Copperas Cove
by defeating Abilene Cooper 64-58. Next game: 2/25/00 vs. #1 Copperas Cove.
Madison (Tiffanie Guthrie) - Guthrie scored 21 points in a 73-42 over Springfield
South. Trotwood-Madison is now 21-0. Next game: Sectional finals against Patterson
on 2/26 at 3:30pm.
Lebanon (Lindsey Hicks) - Lebanon survived a scare, coming from nine points down with
four minutes left to beat Amelia 59-57 in sectional semifinal action. Lindsey Hicks scored
over half Lebanon's points, finishing with 32. Lebanon moves to 21-1 on the season. Next
game: 2/25/00 vs. Cincinnati St. Ursula in the sectional final. A win could set up a
District final game against No. 1 Mason on March 4th if Lebanon wins the sectional.
FEBRUARY 23, 2000
Archbishop Carroll (Cherrise Graham) - The Patriots finished the Catholic League
season with a perfect record, and a 19-3 record overall. Carroll's last regular
season game was a 63-53 victory over Prendie. Graham saw some pine time due to foul
trouble, but finished with 17. Carroll now awaits postseason play.
Broad Ripple (Shalicia Hurns) - Broad Ripple (13-7) was knocked out of the 2000
IHSAA tournament in the first game of sectional play by Indianapolis North Central,
52-40. Shalicia was held to 12 points, eight under her season average. Broad Ripple
finishes the season 13-8.
Ben Davis (Shyra Ely) - The Ben Davis Giants have won their ninth straight sectional
title and remain undefeated on the year with a record of 24-0. After a first round bye,
Ben Davis defeated Northwest (4-16) 75-38. Shyra Ely had 19 points. Ben Davis then beat
Perry Meridian 58-34 in the sectional finals. Ely finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds
and 3 steals, while teammate Ashley Allen had 10 points and 10 boards. Ben Davis is ranked
the No. 1 team in Indiana and is ranked 3rd nationally by USA Today. Next game: tonight
against Franklin Central (18-5).
FEBRUARY 21, 2000
As regular season play for many of the girls teams across the nation comes to an
end, several recruits and prospects are looking ahead to serious runs at their
specific state tournament titles. Here's how a few are doing through today...
Copperas Cove (Shereka Wright) - Copperas Cove opened up tournament play with
a 51-37 victory against Flower Mound Marcus in Texas 5A Region I area play.
Shereka led CC with 20 points as the team used a 33-23 margin in the second
half to pull away. Next game: 2/22/00 vs. DeSoto (29-5)
Coronado (Erika Valek) - All fifteen players on the Coronado team played in a
87-51 romp over Odessa. Valek finished with a team-leading 19 points, seven rebounds,
four assists and seven steals. The team got a scare when Valek turned her ankle
and had to be helped off the floor with five minutes remaining. She later returned to
the game and scored. Coronado then faced El Paso Hanks (33-5) on Friday, defeating
them 62-50. Coronado also defeated Hanks in last year's tournament by forcing
20 turnovers with relentless pressure defense. If both Coronado and Copperas Cove
continue to win, the two teams will soon meet in Region I play. Next game: 2/22/00
vs. Abilene Cooper (21-9)
Mason (Beth Jones) - In first round play, Mason defeated Cincinnati Seton 51-30.
Junior forward Michelle Munoz had a game high 25 in the paint while Jones bombed
three three-pointers from the perimeter. Jones finished with 11 points. Next game:
2/24/00 vs. Cincinnati Withrow (16-5)
Lebanon (Lindsey Hicks) - Lindsey scored 13 points and hit Lebanon's
only perimeter shot in a first round tourney win over Harrison, 54-50. Lindsey is
averaging 21.5 points per game for 20-1 Lebanon. Next game: 2/23/00 vs. Amelia
Madison (Tiffanie Guthrie) - Averaging 22.4 point per game, junior Tiffanie Guthrie's
Madison team won a first round bye and will play their first game on 2/23/00 vs.
Springfield South.
February 20, 2000
Purdue is no stranger to prospects paying unofficial visits to Mackey for
games. Lately, the numbers have seemed to increase, due likely in no small
part to the recent success of both the men's and women's programs. The women
have had a visit recently from West Lafayette's Ebba Gebisa. Also making an unofficial last week was sophomore standout
Shanna Zolman, a high-scoring guard from Wawasee, IN. Zolman, like fellow
state of Indiana junior Shyra Ely, is thought by some to be one of the nation's
best two or three players in their respective classes. For the men, Chesterton
head coach Bob Buscher was scheduled again to bring down the Chesterton basketball
team to Mackey to watch the Boilers play. No word yet if they managed to make it
out of town without someone crashing into the team bus (like what happened the last
time the team came down). Brett Buscher came down again for tonight's game
against Minnesota. Former walkon guard Tim Ervin was also back in Mackey with
a couple of his high school players, including 6'3 junior Levar Seals and 6'7
sophomore Stan Gaines. Both players play for Providence-St. Mel and are pegged as
high Division I recruits. Seals rates as the best junior guard in the state of
Illinois, and Gaines was named a high honorable mention all-american this year
by Street and Smith. Word also had 6'2 sophomore Emmanuel Ford also at the game,
but no one in our group could visually identify him. The Providence-St. Mel
kids stopped by Mackey on their way to a 7:30pm game against Indianapolis
Broad Ripple.
February 19, 2000
An article in the Times (of Northwest Indiana) today has Frank Kendrick as a top
candidate for the new CBA team in Gary, IN. The CBA's 10th team, the Steelheads,
will be on the floor and playing this fall. League CEO Isiah Thomas will have
the final say in the selection of the new coach, but Kendrick is already getting
the nod from a Gary city councilman and two key Steelheads investors. Thomas has
indicated he wants a head coach that is familiar with the community and can
draw at least 3,500 into the arena per game. The article can be found at this link,
but the link will go dead around midnight tonight... [The Times]
If a Kentucky newspaper is correct, Purdue may be receiving a verbal commitment
in the next week. This blurb appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday...
"Cory Sears, a standout at Corbin last season, is finishing up his post-graduate
season at Hargrave Military (VA) and is expected to commit to Purdue within the
next week. The 6-6 1/2 Sears also is being recruited by Florida State and East
Carolina." Sears played basketball for Corbin high school in southern Kentucky,
and was named all-state honorable mention by the Associated Press. As of this moment,
all we know is that Sears was in attendance for a game last week and is getting
interest from the basketball staff.
February 17, 2000
A recent article in the Women's Basketball Journal has rated the Purdue women's
coaching staff the 10th best recruiting program in the nation. The rating comes
at a time when Boiler head coach Kristy Curry has just one year of coaching
under her belt. Obviously helping her reputation was the signing of what many think
is one of the top three recruiting classes for the 2000-2001 season. But another
strong reason for the Boiler's success may be due to a mainstay through three
coaching changes - assistant coach Pam Stackhouse. Stack was mentioned by Women's
Basketball Journal as being the most underrated recruiter in the country.
Connecticut is named the best recruiting program in the nation, followed by
Tennessee, Stanford, Georgia and Duke. Leading the second five is Rutgers, then
Notre Dame, Ohio State, North Carolina State and Purdue.
February 16, 2000
A source indicates Purdue will be scouting Missouri's top junior, 6'8 swingman
David Lee this coming Friday. Lee is rated as a top 30 caliber player and is
being recruited by a host of top midwestern schools including hometown St.
Louis, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Purdue. The athletic 215-pounder is
a natural lefty, but due to a broken shooting wrist suffered at Christmas his
sophomore year he developed the use of his right hand. Lee plays for St. Louis
Chaminade HS, who comes off a Friday loss to DeSmet which dropped them to 15-7 on
the season. Lee had 13 in the loss. Chaminade is ranked 13th in the most recent
Missouri state 4A poll. DeSmet is ranked 5th. Purdue will be in attendance for
Chaminade's game this Friday against #6 CBC.
February 15, 2000
Coach Keady mentioned last summer that the staff would welcome former Boiler
standout Cuonzo Martin onto the coaching staff if he would finish his Purdue
degree. While Cuonzo continues to work on that degree, another Boiler standout
is now returning to campus to finish his degree, also hoping to get into
coaching. Everette Stephens, a two-time "Bob King Assist Award" winner who
still ranks as the 32nd best career scorer in Purdue history, is returning to
campus. In fact, he was in Welsh-Ryan Arena with fellow Boiler teammate Tony
Jones for the Northwestern game this past Saturday. It is yet to been seen if
Everette's return will have a positive influence on getting Cam Stephens back
into his Purdue uniform next fall.
January 30, 2000
We know that Purdue is on the list of hundreds of high school prospects every
year, some may or may not be scouted in return by the Purdue staff. While we
can't list them all here, these are a few of the Indiana junior prospects that
have received some attention and should be kept in the back of the minds of
Purdue recruiting fans.
Dennis Coutee, 6'5 wing from Jeffersonville
Kyle Hankins, 6'2 guard from Bloomington South
Jake Howe, 6'7 center from Evansville Harrison
Ken Lampley, 6'4 wing from Gary Roosevelt
Aaron Patterson, 6'4 guard from Indianapolis Ben Davis
Lonnie Randolph, 6'1 guard from Merrillville
Chris Wiggins, 6'4 shooting guard from Warsaw
January 29, 2000
While Ball State fans are hoping to lure Cam Stephens to Muncie after the end
of his junior college year, they can also keep their eyes on three Indiana high
school prospects. Indianapolis Warren Central junior Will Caudle, a 6'9 center,
is averaging close to 13 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks per game. Caudle has
the body to be a great post player, and has been scouted by Purdue and Iowa,
along with Butler and Indiana State. Indianapolis Cathedral's Leon Petty also
has Ball State on his list. The 6'4 guard started the season with impressive
numbers, even scoring 31 against Manual near the beginning of the season. Since
then his numbers have greatly declined since trying to be more of a distributor
than scorer. Lastly, hometown 6'2 guard Johnny Miller from Muncie Central is
making a name for himself. Against one of the best defensive teams in the state
back in December, Miller almost single-handedly pushed Muncie Central. He was
the only player on the floor Jeffersonville could not contain individually or
as a team.
January 26, 2000
Jamaal Davis may not be considering returning to the Big Ten Conference, but
one of his teammates is. Barton County's Jackie Rogers, a 6'7 220 pound power
forward formerly of Syracuse New York, has received some attention from the
Boiler staff. Purdue will know soon if they are solidly in the race for Rogers,
as he will cut his lengthy list down to three or four schools. Trying to
make that final list are Purdue, St. Bonaventure, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma,
Michigan, Texas Tech, Louisville, Fresno State, UMass and Xavier. Rogers plans
to sign in the spring and will have two years of Division I eligibility.
January 24, 2000
Indiana native Jeff Sagarin, who runs one of the most interesting ratings
systems for major sporting events, has also been rating Indiana high school teams
since 1981 (with the help of the Bloomington Herald-Times' John Harrell). Here's
a look at how some of the boys teams featuring Purdue prospects stack up within the state.
One note when looking at the strength of schedule rating. This stat only includes
games a team has played against other teams from the state of Indiana. So a team
from Gary like Westside, who has played several Chicago teams this season, will
not be accurately represented by the strength of schedule statistic. These ratings
were compiled from all games up through January 15th.
POWER RATING
RANK CLASS RATING W L
7 Pike 4A 91.23 9 2
22 FW Concordia 3A 85.46 6 2
36 Peru 3A 83.54 9 1
45 Monrovia 2A 82.46 9 3
56 Lafayette CC 1A 81.38 8 3
59 Northwestern 2A 81.15 8 3
112 Chesterton 4A 76.74 7 5
114 Huntington 4A 76.58 5 5
131 Gary West 4A 74.95 7 4
184 Elkhart Concord 4A 70.09 4 6
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE RATING
RANK RATING VS top 25 | VS top 64
14 Pike 80.93 1 2 | 4 2
45 Huntington 78.14 0 3 | 0 4
77 FW Concordia 75.77 1 0 | 2 2
83 Concord 75.44 0 1 | 0 4
118 Lafayette CC 73.23 0 1 | 0 2
153 Gary West 71.26 0 0 | 0 0
155 Monrovia 71.11 0 2 | 0 2
173 Chesterton 70.17 1 0 | 1 2
206 Northwestern 68.30 0 1 | 0 1
257 Peru 65.80 0 1 | 0 1
January 21, 2000
Shereka Wright, Beth Jones and Shyra Ely all have a good shot at playing for the
#1 ranked high school team in America by the end of the season. Shyra Ely's Ben
Davis squad is undefeated on the year with a 16-0 record. USA TODAY currently has
Ben Davis as the 4th best team in the nation. Wright's Copperas Cove team sits
one up at No. 3, with an 18-1 record. Copperas Cove defeated Waco, 71-27, and Temple,
38-28, as Shereka Wright averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds over the past week.
Waiting patiently for No. 1 Narbonne to drop a game is Beth Jones' Mason High team.
Mason sits at No. 2 waiting again for the No. 1 team to lose a game so it can return
to the top spot for the second straight year. USA TODAY's national high school
rankings are released on Monday of every week.
January 19, 2000
A couple of interesting articles from Juco Junction on some names we've mentioned on
this site before. A few of the Indiana kids now thriving at Barton County Community
College in Kansas are seeing interest from top Division I programs. Former Anderson star
Eric Bush, who transferred from Illinois State last year, is currently averaging
12.6 points and 9.3 assists per game for Barton CC. Barton is 19-0 and ranked as the
top program in the Division I junior college ranks. Auburn, Louisiana State, Hawaii,
Nebraska, Ball State, Washington State and Maryland are being mentioned. Former Boilermaker
Jamaal Davis is also having a good year with 17.4 points and 8.7 rebounds. Contrary to
a recent report out of Cincinnati, he is still open with more schools getting involved
every day. Davis' list features close to 12 teams, but does not include any in the Big Ten.
The third player having an outstanding first year at Barton is East Chicago Central's
Carlton Baker. Baker is Barton's third leading scorer with a 16.9 per game average, plus
chips in 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal per contest. No stats are available, but
it is a safe bet he leads the team in dunks too.
And according to Fast Break Recruiting, it looks likely that former Purdue prospect Brandon
Mouton will be declared ineligible to play for his high school team due to academic
problems. Mouton chose Texas over Purdue back in November.
January 14, 2000
Freshman forward Elisa Inman has asked for and received her release from the
womens basketball team. "Elisa was not satisfied with her role on our team
and was unsure of her future role with this program," Purdue head coach said
in a university press release today. "We hope she finds a school that will be
a good fit for her, both academically and athletically, and we wish her the
best of luck." Inman, who saw action in three games this year, will have three
years of eligibility remaining with another program.
January 13, 2000
The selection committee for the 2000 McDonalds Mens All-American game has released
a list of 125 candidates for this year's game. Back in November, nominations
from all over the U.S. created a list of 1800 nominees. Of the 25 nominees
from the state of Indiana, four players made the first cut, including Brett
Buscher (Chesterton), Jared Jeffries (Bloomington North), Andre Owens (Perry
Meridian) and Zach Randolph (Marion). The selection committee is currently in
last stage of the balloting for the 2000 team, and at this point it is
estimated that at least 10 to 15 of the 20 players have already been chosen.
During the final round of balloting, due back by January 20, the remaining
positions will be filled. On February 1st, the final 20 member team will be
finalized and released to the public. Below is a list of the Indiana kids who
were part of the initial nomination process for the 2000 team.
Matt Backs 6-6 210 F Marion
Brody Boyd 5-11 160 PG Union Dugger
Brett Buscher 6-8 230 PF Chesterton
Ronald Dokes 6-8 225 C South Bend Riley
Stephen Drabyn, Jr. 6-0 165 PG LaPorte
Blake English 6-5 195 SF Evansville North
Clark Golish 6-2 170 SF Union Dugger
Ricky Gooden 6-5 185 SF Michigan City
Josh Grant 6-8 205 PF Taylor
Traver Griffin 6-6 195 F Pendleton Heights
John Hamilton 6-4 175 SG Greenfield Central
C. J. Hill 6-3 163 SG Ben Davis
Myron Hodge 6-7 190 G/F Evansville Bosse
Jemil Jackson 5-9 160 SG South Bend Washington
Jared Jeffries 6-10 215 PF Bloomington North
Antonio Lisenbee 6-3 173 F Ben Davis
Chris Loveless 6-2 170 PG Mooresville
Adam Mark 6-8 200 C Bremen
Andre Owens 6-3 180 PG Perry Meridian
Austin Parkinson 6-0 175 PG Northwestern
Shane Powers 6-5 210 SF Andrean
Zach Randolph 6-9 270 C Marion
Brandon Webb 6-6 230 SF Knox
Jerome Williams 6-1 200 SF Taylor
Jovan Witherspoon 6-4 180 SG Bishop Luers
January 12, 2000
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Jovan Witherspoon has narrowed his list to four. The
6'4 180-pound Witherspoon is a highly coveted wide receiver in football, but
is also an athletic wing player in basketball. Likely to be on football
scholarship, Witherspoon is down to Purdue, Northwestern, Notre Dame and
Kentucky. Several schools are still trying to get involved. Jovan is scheduled
to visit Notre Dame this weekend, then follow up with a visit to Kentucky.
He has already made multiple visits to Purdue. In basketball, Witherspoon is
currently averaging 22.4 points and 6.3 rebounds, shooting .526 from the floor
and .417 from the perimeter for 2-5 Luers. His 35 point outburst last Saturday
against Eastside is the best scoring output so far this season in the Summit
Athletic Conference.
January 08, 2000
Former Boilermaker Jamaal Davis is having an outstanding year at Barton County
Junior College, averaging 21 points and 11 boards. Davis has been seen in the
Cincinnati area visiting both Cincy and Xavier in mid-December. Others on the
6'8 power forward's list are Fresno State, Florida, LSU, Auburn, Kansas State,
Louisville and Oklahoma.
To see the 1999 stories go here -->
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