Smoky Hill began the season with high hopes to improve upon an early exit from last year's
state tournament. But the beginning of the 2000-2001 season has shown the inability of Smoky Hill
to win the close ones. Smoky Hill (1-3) entered the year ranked No. 3 in Colorado Class 5A,
but has lost games by three, five and six points. Going to the Las Vegas with
questions about the team is nothing new to Smoky Hill. Last year they went to Vegas with a
1-1 record, then ran the table in the Bronze Division, also landing Matt Carroll a tournament
MVP honor. This year's trip to the Las Vegas Prep Invitational continued the frustration from
that three point loss to Palmer in the season opener. Smoky Hill played Clear Lake in the first
round of the tournament, losing 62-57. Carroll led Smoky Hill with 23 points and nine boards,
adding a three pointer, a block and a steal. Smoky Hill turned it around the next evening against
Parkview Baptist, winning comfortably 61-47. Jeremy Dougherty led Smoky Hill with 12 points,
followed by Carroll with 10 points and four rebounds. In the consolation semifinal game with
Wilson (SC), Smoky Hill finished the tournament with a 59-53 loss. Part of the problem was
horrid shooting in the second half (5 for 29) and the lack of any perimeter scoring throughout
the game (1 of 17). Carroll had 18 points, seven rebounds, a block and an assist. On the season
through four games, Carroll is averaging 15.8 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 50-percent
from the field, 62.5-percent from the free throw line and 45.5-percent from the perimeter.
The Hillcrest Tournament turned out to be a tough one for Stagg. Stagg lost to Sandburg on
Thursday, sending them up against Homewood-Flossmoor (6-8) for fifth-place in the tournament.
Even with Heikes scoring 20 points, Stagg (10-4) lost to HF 38-32.
DECEMBER 30, 2000
Brandon McKnight scores 40 in loss. In the third place game of the Mishawaka Holiday Basketball
Tournament, the home team knocked off South Bend LaSalle 82-76. Brandon McKnight finished with
a game-high 40 points and eight rebounds, scoring 19 points in the final quarter of play.
McKnight was perfect from the line and hit five shots from the perimeter.
It's been a while now since we have checked in with Brandon Jones and Peru. Last Friday, Peru
started conference play with a 66-55 win over Eastern. Jones finished the game with 14 points.
Peru is currently 3-3 (1-0 in the MIC) on the season.
DECEMBER 29, 2000
A nice background article on Evansville Mater Dei's Matt Kiefer, who has Purdue as a top
consideration. The 6'9 forward also sports a 3.975 GPA. Purdue, Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin,
Xavier and Iowa State are showing interest. Kiefer's versatility, and especially his
better than average ballhandling for a 6'9 player comes from playing a lot of guard before
hitting his growth spurt. I'm told his older brother John is a freshman engineering student
at Purdue, and his father is a Purdue graduate. That, with his wish to stay close to home may
fair well in the Boilers' favor. The article also debunks a rumor that he may have already
given an early verbal commitment to Purdue.
A couple of new rankings to discuss for the three Purdue signees. Matt Carroll has been rated
as a top 100 player by at least two scouts. Tracy Pierson from Pac-West Hoops has Carroll
at No. 55 among seniors, while Vince Baldwin of Midwest Hoops has Carroll at No. 94.
On the topic of rankings, Purdue's most recent recruiting class of Matt Carroll, Darmetreis
Kilgore and Brandon McKnight has been rated the 35th best class in the country according to
Hoop Scoop. Clark Francis has the junior college sophomore Darmetreis Kilgore as a top 40
player, McKnight at No. 99, and Carroll in the top 200 to 300 range.
A new ranking of the Big Ten recruiting classes has Purdue with the conference's 6th best class.
CNNSI has Kilgore as the 4th best incoming player.
Emily Heikes scored more points than the entire Bremen team in the opening game of the Hillcrest
Tournament. Heikes had 18 points as Stagg (10-2) rolled over Bremen 44-14.
DECEMBER 27, 2000
Former Purdue head coach Linn Dunn talks to Steve Valiant about her early years at Purdue,
motivating elite players, recruiting and her duties now as the head coach/General Manager
of the Seattle Storm.
Former Purdue head coach Linn Dunn talks to Steve Valiant about her early years at Purdue,
motivating elite players, recruiting and her duties now as the head coach/General Manager
of the Seattle Storm.
Brandon McKnight has slipped to the No. 6 scorer in the state through seven games. He is
averaging 28.4 points per contest. Chris Thomas falls to No. 8.
DECEMBER 26, 2000
Stagg HS (9-2) dropped their second game of the season last Thursday to Hillcrest (9-1). Emily
Heikes led Stagg with 17 points and 16 rebounds in the 56-54 overtime loss. Heikes had the opportunity
to win the game at the end of regulation, but missed the second of two free throws to send the
game into overtime knotted at 49. A potential rematch looms on the near horizon as Stagg is the
No.4 seed in the Hillcrest Tournament that begins on Wednesday. Hillcrest is the No.1 seed
in their own tournament. Stagg plays Bremen at 7:30pm on Wednesday, December 27th.
DECEMBER 22, 2000
If Purdue chooses to recruit a point guard from the 2002 class, there are a couple of new players
to keep an eye on. From Winton Woods (OH), 6-foot-1 point guard Robert Hite has been rated as the
45th best junior in the nation. Hite averaged 15 points as a sophomore, playing mostly as a
swingman. Hite has already been offered by Xavier, Ohio State and Cincinnati, but is also
mentioning Kentucky, Wright State, North Carolina, Purdue and Dayton. Purdue was seen scouting
Hite in late November. Up north in Milwaukee is an even higher rated prospect. Milwaukee Vincent's
6-foot-1 point guard Greg Brown, rated 19th by Phenoms, is a scoring point guard. An excellent
ballhandler and improving shooter. Brown is averaging 14.5 points and shoots 75-percent from the
free throw line. Among the schools mentioned by Brown ... Purdue, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan
State, Marquette, Iowa and Wisconsin.
This will be the final update until December 27th due to the Christmas holiday. I hope everyone
has a happy and safe holiday season!
DECEMBER 18, 2000
An article in the Sun-Times is mentioning interest from Purdue in 6-foot-9 James Augustine from
Lincoln-Way (IL). The 215-pound junior center is averaging 8.7 points and seven rebounds.
Purdue, Iowa, Marquette and Miami of Ohio are showing interest. Augustine got a favorable review
last month when he held 6-foot-11 Eddie Curry to 13 points through three quarters before the
fatigue of denying a 310-pound all-american settled in. Augustine has a better than average
perimeter shot for a big man and also is a quarterback for the football team. Speaking of
football, Augustine is the backup to Lincoln-Way's Corey Paus, who will play for Purdue's
Rose Bowl opponent next year. Lincoln-Way senior teammate Kevin Menard, who signed with
Marquette, listed Purdue as a final consideration before choosing Marquette. So we know
someone on Keady's staff is working Lincoln-Way fairly hard.
Back in July we heard Purdue was looking at Bellmont junior guard Seth Colclasure as a shooter,
and a recent article on Colclasure mentions Purdue's continued involvement. Last summer, Homer
Drew had already placed a scholarship offer on the table. Colclasure would fit that role of
shooter, and his continued improvement could get him a larger role. Now a player who can get
himself open for the shot, Colclasure is attracting attention from all over. Interested schools
include Purdue, Valparaiso, Illinois, Notre Dame, Butler, Southern Illinois, Vanderbilt,
Ball State, Indiana State, Kentucky and Central Florida. His numbers are impressive. This season
he is averaging 24.3 points on 66-percent shooting from the field and a perfect 16-of-16
from the charity stripe. He has a career free throw percentage of 93-percent. He is also
averaging 5.2 steals per game, and has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1-to-1. He also
carries a 3.97 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. A source from Bellmont says he has not
seen any Purdue coaches at any of Bellmont's games, but Keady scouted Colclasure when they
played Huntington North. He also believes Seth's father is a Purdue grad. Colclasure was a
target of former Indiana assistant Pat Knight, and the Indiana summer touring team made
frequent stops by Bellmont. Click the article below for an outstanding look at Seth
Colclasure.
Former Purdue All-Big Ten player Everette Stephens' name came up in an article on a promising
sophomore player from Illinois. Mike Rudoy is a 6-foot-6 sophomore small forward already getting
some Division I attention. No schools mentioned except Duke in a blurb about Mike Krzyzewski
giving the kid "advice". Uh huh. Anyway, the kid's father is a long time sports agent. One
of his father's clients is Elgin Academy's new head coach Everette Stephens. Stephens now
knows the kid fairly well, since Rudoy put up a season high 28 points against Stephens' team
two weeks ago. A player to keep an eye on.
I have the game summary up for the Lafayette Central Catholic varsity game against Indianapolis
Cathedral, including some notes on the Purdue targets and other contributing players. In his
debut in front of a ton of Purdue fans in attendance, freshman recruit Robert Vaden made a
very favorable impression.
Former walk-on Boilermaker guard Tim Ervin in being praised in an article in the Chicago
Tribune. He is now the head coach of Providence-St. Mel and hopes to make St. Mel a
power in the boys basketball tournament. Prospect Stanley Gaines, a 6-foot-7 forward is
also mentioned in the article.
Purdue fans will get an opportunity to see a handful of potential future Boilermakers all
in one game tonight, as Indianapolis Cathedral travels to Lafayette Central Catholic. For
most fans, it will be an early opportunity to see Robert Vaden and Desmond Gadis, the two
freshman players who recently pledged to the Boilermakers. Gadis and the Cathedral junior
varsity are scheduled to tip-off at 6:30pm, followed by Robert Vaden and the varsity squad
around 8:00pm.
Official stats released by the IHSAA this week (games through December 9th), has Brandon
McKnight as the state's No.4 scorer with an average of 28.7 points per game. Brandon's 41
point outburst against Elkhart Central on December 8th currently ranks as the second-highest
scoring output in the state this season.
DECEMBER 14, 2000
Colorado Class 5A Palmer, a state championship team a year ago but off to a 2-2 start this season,
spoiled Smoky Hill's debut on Tuesday. Palmer's "little midgets" used a matchup zone to counter
Smoky Hill's inside size, holding on for the 64-61 win. Matt Carroll finished with 12 points on
6-of-10 shooting from the field. Carroll led Smoky Hill in rebounding with seven, and also added
a block and an assist.
Emily Heikes scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 46-22 Stagg victory over
Lockwood.
One thing is for certain this year, the war of words among fans as to who is the best senior
point guard in the state of Indiana will be furious if Purdue-bound Brandon McKnight and
Notre Dame-bound Chris Thomas continue their individual assaults on scoreboards. While Thomas
scored 35 points in Pike's only game this weekend, an 82-53 win over Providence St. Mel (IL),
McKnight averaged 34 points over two games this weekend. On Friday, McKnight exploded for 41
points in a loss to Elkhart Central, hitting five three-pointers. On Saturday, McKnight added
another 27 points and 11 rebounds after being the focus of the LaPorte defense. LaPorte's
Nick Otis on McKnight from the South Bend Tribune...This is two nights in a row
I've seen him and (Friday) night he was just incredible. Tonight, even with all the double
teaming, we still couldn't stop him."
Central Catholic was led by a senior and two juniors in a 64-57 home victory against 3A
Roncalli. Eric Anthrop led CC with 18 points, folled by the 17 points and 12 rebounds of
Tyler Best, and the 12 points and six rebounds of Russell Trudeau. Central Catholic extends
their record to 4-0.
Merrillville's Justin Johnson (6'7, 2002, Merrillville HS) helped the Pirates avenge a 33-point
loss last week in the Region Roundball Rumble, with a 58-41 beating on rival Andrean. Johnson
finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Johnson, who can be streaky at times, is getting
looks from high Division I schools such as Purdue, Cincinnati, Xavier and others.
After a 26 point outburst in the season opener against Mt. Vernon last week, Matt Kiefer
(6'8, 2002, Evansville Mater Dei) followed up with a more humble nine points and eight boards in
a 59-58 victory over Evansville Reitz. Kiefer also pulled down the game's final rebound, was
fouled, and hit the winning freethrow.
Gary West Side (5-1) defeated Brett Buscher's alma mater on Thursday behind the 15 points and
four blocked shots of Chris Hunter and 13 points from Brandon Cameron.
Stagg (7-1) dropped their first game of the season on Wednesday in a 48-41 loss to Mother
McAuley (4-0). Emily Heikes finished with six points and 15 rebounds (official rebounding
stats contrary to the 13 listed in article below). While Heikes controlled the boards against
her biggest opposition of the season, she got into early foul trouble and was limited to only
1 of 11 from the floor.
Purdue is expected to pay a visit to Homewood Christian Academy (IL) on Tuesday to check out
6'8 junior Ricky Cornett. At 220-pounds, Cornett is seen as a can't miss Division I prospect.
Cornett visited Michigan State unofficially this past weekend, and has offers already on the
table from Purdue, Illinois, Iowa, Duke, North Carolina and others.
Stagg girls basketball coach Sharon Ostema had the uncomfortable job of coaching Stagg over
rival No. 18 Sandburg on Friday -- uncomfortable because just ten years ago Ostema was playing for
Sandburg and the coach she would now coach against. Ostema was comforted by a 39-33 Stagg
victory that advanced her team to 7-0 on the season. Stagg was led by frshman Heather King with
11 point, with Emily Heikes adding seven points and eight rebounds.
South Bend LaSalle starts the season 2-0 with a Friday night win over Fort Wayne South, 79-68.
Purdue signee Brandon McKnight led the LaSalle Lions with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Region Roundball Rumble Updates:
In game one, Tyler Best was named the MVP with an outstanding performance in a 81-62 win over
Bishop Noll. Best scored 11 points, adding 17 rebounds and six assists. However, Best went
0 for 5 from the line, while teammate Russell Trudeau was 6 of 7. Trudeau led Central Catholic
with 21 points, and Kristof Kendrick added 19. In one of the more interesting comments of the
tournament, Kristof Kendrick stated he wanted to be recruited by Indiana University.
Merrillville got trounced by Indianapolis Warren Central in game three by 33 points. Player to
watch Justin Johnson of Merrillville had 10 points, six rebounds and was perfect from the line
in the losing effort.
Game four saw Gary Westside defeat Bullitt Central (KY) 63-48. Game MVP Donnie Richards shared
scoring honors with teammate Dennis Gates with 17 each, Brandon Cameron's eight and Chris Hunter's
seven points. Cameron added four assists and three steals, while Hunter had nine boards and four
blocks.
DECEMBER 1, 2000
In this article on Gary West's Chris Hunter, Tyler Best talks about Hunter's progress over
the summer.
Darmetreis Kilgore was the only player in double figures for the Tyler Apaches, scoring 26
points in a 78-62 loss to Paris Junior College on Wednesday. Paris held Tyler as a team to
just a hair above 30-percent shooting from the field, and forced Tyler into 24 turnovers.
Kilgore was on the floor for 37 minutes of the game, hitting 9 of 22 field goals, 6 of 9
from the perimeter and both of his freethrows. Kilgore led all scorers in the first half
with 17 points on 5 of 5 shooting from the perimeter. Kilgore also added five boards, three
assists and four steals, committing only one foul. Tyler falls to 4-6 on the season.
Tyler Best talks about his illness last year that almost took his sight, and the upcoming
Region Roundball Rumble matchup with 6'9 Kenneth "Baby Shaq" Harris. Central Catholic has
a tough day Saturday. They begin the day with an 11:00am matchup in the Rumble, followed by
an evening matchup at Rensselaer Central.
It surprised me two years ago when Iowa high school freshman guard Jeff Horner made an early
commitment to the University of Iowa. It absolutely amazed me when it was officially announced
that two Indianapolis freshmen players were verbally committing to Purdue. Robert Vaden, a
6-foot-5 forward, and teammate Desmond Gadis, a 6-foot-0 guard, both verbally committed to
play for Purdue beginning with the 2004-2005 season. Vaden and Gadis both play at Indianapolis
Cathedral. Vaden is the higher ranked of the two players, ranked as the third-best big man and
13th overall in the class of 2004 by Prep Hoops, and 5th overall by Phenom Junior
All-American Camps. Vaden also has the early tag as being Indiana's best player in the class
of 2004. It is normal policy for this site not to list or mention too much about a player until
they have passed their freshman year of high school. Who needs people asking a freshman about
his list of schools? However, since Vaden and Gadis have both taken themselves off the market,
we will be creating profiles for them and following their freshman season stats.
Hutchinson JC focused on shutting down Tyler JC's top scorer, Darmetreis Kilgore, frustrating
him enough to run away with an 88-64 victory. Kilgore finished with 23 points, but shot 7 of 22
from the floor and only 2 of 13 from the perimeter. Kilgore had 12 points in a 98-72 win over
Hill College the night before.
NOVEMBER 27, 2000
Brandon McKnight opened his senior season with a 25 point performance against Elkhart Baptist.
Eleven of his twelve made shots came from inside the perimeter.
With Brandon Cameron out with the flu, Gary Westside rode Chris Hunter's 22 points, 8 boards and
two game deciding defensive charge-receptions to nip Lew Wallace 69-66. Westside is now 2-1 on
the season.
Lafayette Central Catholic began the season with a bang, defeating Covenant Christian 101-37.
Russell Trudeau led CC with 24 points. Kristof Kendrick added 13 and Tyler Best chipped in nine.
Stagg moved to 6-0 on the season as Emily Heikes led the team with 15 points in a 43-29 win
over Oak Forest. Emily leads Stagg in scoring with 13 points per game, currently scoring
31-percent of her team's points. Emily has led Stagg in scoring for all but one game this season.
In that game against Oswego, foul trouble limited her to 10 points and seven rebounds.
NOVEMBER 25, 2000
The player profile is now up for 2002 center Gillian Goring, including a couple scouting reports
and the Germantown Academy season schedule.
Chris Hunter scored 12 points but only got seven shot attempts against a pumped up Gary Roosevelt
team last night. Roosevelt beat the Westside Cougars 77-68. Brandon Cameron matched Hunter's
output of 12 points, but was 4-15 from the floor.
I spoke to Germantown Academy head coach Sharon Retif today about 6'7 junior center Gillian
Goring. Contrary to the Connecticut press, who last summer indicated Going had narrowed her
list, Goring's list is not being cut at the moment. Retif also confirmed Curry and a top
assistant both visited Germantown Academy recently.
A brief team preview for Germantown Academy, featuring 2002 6'7 all-american center Gillian
Goring. Goring is getting attention from Purdue, Tennessee, Penn State, Vanderbilt, UCONN and
Georgia. Georgia has just received a verbal from the best center in the class of 2001, Kara
Braxton, so we will see how that might affect Goring's outlook on continuing to consider
Georgia.
Don't look for Purdue football wide receiver John Standeford to join the Boilers this season,
but he is keeping it as an open option for the future. Another potential football-to-basketball
walkon could be high school senior Brandon Jones, who has verbally committed to Purdue football.
We will be following the progress of the all-state high school all-purpose player throughout
the season again this year, as he will likely be a main scoring option for the Tigers and
hovering among the state's leading scorers in basketball. A preview of the 2000 Peru Tigers
is online at the Kokomo Tribune...
A reminder that tickets go on sale today for the second annual Region Roundball Rumble, an
all day showcase featuring seven of the state's top programs plus a team from Kentucky. Tickets
can be purchased at participating schools, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays at the Hammond Civic
Center box office, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, beginning Monday afternoon, at Times
offices in Munster, Crown Point, Valparaiso and Portage. Tickets are $6 for the two-game
morning session, or $10 for the entire four-game day. The Times Region Roundball Rumble will
be held December 2nd at the Hammond Civic Center, Hammond, IN. The Rumble will feature four
games, beginning at 11am, 1pm, 6pm and 8pm. The 11am game has defending state Class A champion
Lafayette Central Catholic facing Bishop Noll. Lafayette Central Catholic will put 6'8 Tyler
Best, 6'5 Russell Trudeau and 6'4 Kristof Kendrick up against arguably the best big man in
northern Indiana, 6'9 sophomore Kenneth Harris. Harris has already verbally committed to
Valparaiso University. The 1pm game has two local teams playing, Lake Central and LaPorte.
After a late afternoon break, action begins again at 6pm with Gary Westside and Bullitt
Central (KY). West continues to schedule out-of-state competition, this time bringing in a
Kentucky team to the Rumble. The obvious two prospects to watch at West are the much
mentioned juniors Brandon Cameron and Chris Hunter, but also watch for shooting guard
Duane Cooper and a host of additional talent on a packed roster. In the 8pm game,
Xavier-bound 6'8 senior Will Caudle, Indiana State-bound senior 6'0 Terren Wilson, Ben
Davis transfer 6'5 Aaron Patterson and Indianapolis Warren Central take on 6'7 junior
Justin Johnson, 6'0 senior Lonnie Randolph and Merrillville High.
And while we are on the subject of northern Indiana basketball, Frank Kendrick's Gary Steelheads
CBA team will be featuring former Boilermakers Chad Austin, Jaraan Cornell and Roy Hairston.
A chance to be a season ticketholder from game one of the franchise can be accomplished by
calling (219) 882-4CBA. Training camp for the 2000-2001 Steelheads can be viewed on the
Purdue-Calumet campus in Hammond.
NOVEMBER 15, 2000
Purdue lone early signee made it official Monday by signing her Letter-of-Intent to become
a Boilermaker. Emily Heikes, a 6-foot-0 forward, averaged 14.7 points and 10.9 rebounds
per game last season. Comments from Curry are posted over on the official site...
Citing the fact she wanted to move away from home, Ebba Gebisa verbally committed to
Wisconsin on Sunday. More recently, Ben Davis' Ashley Allen has verballed to Ohio State.
The Boilers scouted Allen, but failed to show much interest after signing a ton of high quality
guards last year.
The confidence from the staff this fall has been high. Now upon signing three top players
to LOIs, the confidence has turned to pride. "We are happy that we seem to have the positions
filled for all of our need - a quick guard who can handle the ball, another quick guard who
can shoot it and finally a power player who's real aggressive," said Keady on his newest
additions. "I like this group. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do when they get
here as part of the program."
The player profile is up for Darmetreis Kilgore, including a short bio, news gathered from
this site over the past year, a couple scouting reports, some story links, some season stats,
and his 00-01 season schedule.
Steve Valiant is back, this time with an interview. Playing on Purdue's teams during the first
years of Lin Dunn's coaching tenure, Jane Schott, then known as Jane Calhoun, was a part of the
first Purdue team to win the Big Ten championship. Steve talked to Jane about playing under Linn
Dunn, making history at Purdue, what makes a good coach, and about her job as color commentator
for Lady Boiler home games.
In a heartbreaker, Shyra Ely has been confirmed to have verbally committed to Tennessee in a
Wednesday press conference. Our source at the news conference said Ely mentioned she thought
Tennessee could help her reach the next level, but it was a hard decision and she found nothing
wrong with Purdue to make her choose Tennessee. Her impression of Ely's was that the Ben Davis
player looked very sincere when she said she had a hard time turning down Curry and staff. Ely
was quoted to say she "always wanted to go to Purdue." But, she chose Tennessee.
Adam Waleskowski was still mentioning Purdue, Dayton and Xavier, even though all three schools
were out of scholarships to offer the forward from the class of 2001. Pete Waleskowski, Adam's
father, had told us he would be willing to pay for a year's tuition if his son ended up
liking one of the above three programs enough to want to commit. But Florida State could
offer a scholarship, and in a move certain to make his father a little more financially
happy at least, Adam Waleskowski verbally committed to Florida State on Tuesday.
The early signing period begins today, and Purdue awaits letters-of-intent from their three
verbal commitments...Darmetreis Kilgore, Matt Carroll, and Brandon McKnight. Once the LOI
is received for a player, the coaching staff will be able to officially comment about the
player to the media.
The early signing period begins today and runs until November 15th. The Boilers are hoping
today brings good news about the cornerstone of this season's recruiting efforts...Shyra Ely.
Ely is scheduled to announce her decision Wednesday evening along with teammate Ashley Allen.
A contributor to the site will be at the scrimmage tomorrow night and will be able to confirm any rumors
about the decision after it happens. Ely finished her final recruiting visit to Ohio State
this past weekend, and it appears as if her four choices of Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee
and Purdue are all getting equal consideration. Ashley Allen is also considering Georgia
along with Arkansas. Will they be a package? An excellent article on the relationship
between Allen and Ely dives into the subject in the Indianapolis Star...
A decision is expected soon from West Lafayette's 6'3 Ebba Gebisa, who is down to
Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan and Vanderbilt. The Journal and Courier has a season preview
up for the West Lafayette Red Devils, where head coach Steve Dietrich hopes a thin
roster can improve on last season's 11-11 record.
We have received the 2000-2001 schedule for Tyler Best and Lafayette Central Catholic. It has
been posted in his player profile, which also has been reworked.
Ebba Gebisa was in attendance for the Boilermaker Hoopla scrimmage held this past Saturday,
but is not ready to commit. Her list still stands at Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan and Vanderbilt.
The University of Tennessee has just added California 5'11 point guard Loree Moore to their 2000-2001
recruiting class, and now turns their attention on signing the nation's top player, Shyra Ely.
Ely still plans to visit Ohio State this weekend and announce a decision on the first day of
the early signing period which begins on November 8th. Ely has been the focus of Purdue's
recruiting for years. Just last year a source commented to us that the staff, while wanting to
also sign other players at other positions, believed if they only signed Ely from the class
of 2001, their recruiting would be a success. Ely is THAT good of a player at several key
positions of need for the Boilers. Purdue has recruited Ely extremely hard, and losing her to
another program will not be due to any lack of trying on the part of the staff.
The commitment of Loree Moore comes on the heels of another Tennessee target choosing to stay
home and attend Michigan. Tabitha Pool, a 6'1 forward from Ann Arbor Huron HS (MI), chose
the Wolverines over Tennessee and Michigan State. Pool averaged 22 points, 18 rebounds,
five steals, four assists and two blocks as a junior. She is as the ranked No. 18 senior
by Women's Basketball Journal and at No. 30 in the newest Blue Star rankings.
Jeff Washburn recently spoke to recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons about Keady's
incoming recruiting class of Kilgore, Carroll and McKnight. Gibbons believes it is Keady's
finest class since 1994, when Purdue brought in highly regarded Brad Miller and Chad Austin,
a sleeper named David Lesmond, and the nation's top junior college player Roy Hairston.
FoxSports has a new list of the nation's top 40 high school senior girls up, and author
Clay Kallam doesn't believe Shyra Ely is the top player. That honor now goes to
Narbonne's Loree Moore. Before anyone argues a Tennessee bias from Kallam, I would point out
that Kallam was the analyst who picked Purdue as the preseason No. 1 team for the 2000-2001
season in Slam Magazine.
Over the weekend, Darmetreis Kilgore made good on his "word" to Gene Keady...he will play for
the Boilers in 2001-2002. Kilgore, along side his family for the weekend visit and scrimmage,
finally ended the speculation and chose Purdue over Kentucky. Kilgore will have two years
of eligibility beginning in the 2001-2002 season, but may flirt with the NBA along the way.
With verbal commitments from 6'8 forward Matt Carroll, 6'3 point guard Brandon McKnight, and
now Kilgore, Purdue has used all of the available scholarships for the class of 2001 and now
turns to the class of 2002. Purdue has up to five scholarships to use on that class.
Big Ten Update: Michigan State received a commitment from 6'4 Kelvin Tolbert, a shooting guard
from Flint Northwestern HS (MI). Tolbert is rated by most as a top five player, some ranking
him as the best player in the nation. Tolbert averaged 25.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.2 dunks
a game as a junior. He chose Michigan State over Michigan, Connecticut and Cincinnati.
Wisconsin beat Tulane for the services of LaTrell Fleming of Milwaukee Marshall HS (WI).
Fleming is a 6'3 combo guard who averaged 18 points, five assists, three steals and four
rebounds as a junior. Tennessee and Marquette had also offered. Wisconsin now has two
scholarships remaining to offer the class of 2001.
NOTE: The next update for this page will not be until October 30 as I will be out of town.
You can keep up with recruiting info by visiting the Purdue sports forum.
Blue Star has their 2000-2001 ranking up, and Shyra Ely remains the top player in
the nation in her class and in all classes. The two new ranking lists are located on the
"Rankings" page.
Matt Carroll to Purdue! Smoky Hill 6'8 forward Matt Carroll has verballed to Purdue and will
sign in November, according to PacWest Hoops, who talked with Carroll last night. Other
sites have since confirmed the news, including FansOnly's Bill Hodge. Carroll is a
solid, top 100 rated forward who can play a mixture of both forward positions. Specific rankings
include 95th by Fox Sports and Recruiting USA, 87th by Midwest Hoops, plus
named an honorable mention all-american by Street & Smith and USA Today. Carroll
boasts a 3.5 GPA and a 1020 SAT score. Purdue has just one scholarship remaining, currently
held out to 6'5 JUCO winger Darmetreis Kilgore. Kilgore will visit Purdue this weekend. Wide
speculation has Kilgore in the mood to make a decision this weekend, which will help Purdue
greatly by allowing the staff to concentrate on the class of 2002. Purdue will have up to five
scholarships to offer the class of 2002.
More on the commitment of Courtney Young to Tennessee from the Ventura County Star, indicating
Purdue may have been out of the running back in September when she cut her list to Tennessee and
Georgia.
Utah was the choice on Tuesday for Los Alamos (NM) center Chris Jackson, choosing the Utes
over Purdue, New Mexico and Stanford. Meanwhile, 6'8 forward Matt Carroll is scheduled to
announce sometime within the next day between Purdue, Vanderbilt and Utah. Utah has the opposite
problem that Purdue has at the moment. While the Boilers are loaded at guard, Utah has eight
player 6'8 or taller, not including the recently verballed Chris Jackson. That lineup includes
two players, Chris Burgess and Lance Allred, both 6'10 wanting to play facing the basket.
Purdue prospect Courtney Young has verballed to Tennessee after her weekend visit, and according
to a story at Cal Preps, Tennessee leads for Indianapolis' Shyra Ely also. Both Young
and Ely visited Tennessee this past weekend, Young on Saturday and Sunday, and Ely on Sunday
and Monday.
Two of Purdue prime targets are visiting Tennessee this weekend. Courtney Young, a 5'10 athletic
combo guard from Buena HS (CA) is visiting with her mother, and 6'3 forward Shyra Ely arrived
on the Vol campus Saturday evening for an official visit. Prospects are allowed 48 hours on
campus on an official visit.
OCTOBER 21, 2000
T"nae Thiel has reportedly given Stanford a verbal commitment, but the news has yet to be
confirmed. Thiel has also reportedly cancelled her official visit to Purdue.
OCTOBER 19, 2000
Peoria's Marcellus Sommerville has verballed to the University of Iowa over a final list that
also included Kentucky and Saint Louis.
All-American Angelina Williams of Chicago Washington HS (IL), a 6'0 forward, has verbally
committed to the University of Illinois. Williams chose Illinois over Wisconsin and Purdue.
Williams averaged 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds last year, helping her team to the Class AA
state finals.
OCTOBER 18, 2000
Cisti Greenwalt, the 6'5 senior center from Clovis HS (NM), has given Texas Tech a verbal
commitment. Greenwalt has been favoring staying closer to home, giving Texas Tech and New Mexico
the edge in her recruitment. Greenwalt's decision means signing a center becomes even more
important from the class of 2002. The 2002-2003 season will feature only two players on the
Purdue roster over 6'1. True center Mary Jo Noon will be a senior that season, and the
versatile Shalicia Hurns at 6'3 will be a junior.
Chris Jackson seems to be relatively unconcerned about the recent center additions to two
of his favorites, according to a report by Jeremy Tiers. Stanford and New Mexico
have both received verbals from nationally ranked centers from the class of 2001. Robert Little,
a 6'9 center from Fairfax (VA) rated #84 by Hoop Scoop, has verballed to Stanford, while
New Mexico on Monday added 7'0 center Chad Bell from Los Angeles (CA) who rates at #71 by
Hoop Scoop. Comparatively, Jackson is rated #162 by Hoop Scoop. Pay close attention to one
comment Jackson makes in response to his favorites as he visits them. I made a comment on the
forum yesterday about the fact Mel McCants, during his official visits, verballed to each school
he visited. Purdue just happened to be his last visit. When Jackson says, "After you meet
the coaches and visit a school you start thinking about them a lot, but then you visit the
next school and the same thing happens...", it is encouraging Purdue will get the final
official visit from him too. When a player likes what he sees almost everywhere he goes, it is
nice to make the final impression.
Darmetreis Kilgore will officially visit Purdue the weekend of October 27-29. According to his
coach Matt Javit, Purdue is the clear frontrunner, maybe one of the only schools in the running
for Kilgore. Kilgore has previously mentioned giving his "word" to the Purdue coaches, and no
matter what high school site seems to think Purdue is recruiting over him, Purdue has remained
equally loyal. Russ Blake gives up an update on Kilgore.
Tamal Forchion, a skilled power player from Philly Roman Catholic (PA), has verballed to
George Washington over LaSalle, St. Bonaventure and St. Joe's.
OCTOBER 17, 2000
Shyra Ely spent time on Purdue's campus this past weekend on an official visit, and came away
with a good view of practice and Curry's philosophy. Next she will visit Tennessee this coming
weekend, to be followed by a visit to Ohio State the first week of November.
Both Gary McQuay and John Standeford were no-shows as an estimated 30 players showed up
today to try and win a walk-on spot with the Boilers. Andrew Ford, so far, is the only
invited walk-on.
An interesting interview with JaQuan Hart over at the Midwest Hoops site. Hart talks
about his game and his grades, revealing he has yet to get a qualifying score on the SAT. He
also talks about enjoying an up-tempo style team, mentioning both Michigan and Iowa have
up-tempo offenses. While he lists Michigan and Iowa as slight favorites, he adds "Purdue is
real, real close."
It has been a long time since we have seen an update on Wisconsin guard Latrell Fleming. Ages
ago it seems he mentioned Purdue, but as this report states, it is down to only Marquette,
Tennessee, Tulane and Wisconsin. He is favoring the last two.
Big Ten update: A 6-foot-11 center from Texas has verballed to Iowa. Trinity High senior Erek
Hansen averaged 10.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and three blocks per game last season, and chose Iowa
over SMU and Texas Tech. Hansen was recruited on his athleticism and mobility, said to be
better defensively than offensively. Hansen is Iowa's second commitment from the 2001 class.
Westmont (IL) point guard Pierre Pierce committed last spring. Iowa now looks for a wing
scorer, and is still involved with two Purdue prospects, 6-foot-5 JaQuan Hart and 6-foot-7
Marcellus Sommerville. A recent Iowa radio sports report claimed Hart has reduced his list to
only Michigan and Iowa, similar to what Hart recently told the Wolverine. Iowa has one
scholarship remaining for the class of 2001.
Shanna Zolman, junior guard from Wawasee (IN), announced today at a news conference she will
play for Tennessee.
OCTOBER 10, 2000
Wawasee junior guard Shanna Zolman is scheduled to announce her college choice at 3:15pm
today at Wawasee high school.
When we spoke to Andre Patterson's mother a year ago, she was already trying to get Andre to
take more interest in west coast schools. And more importantly, she was lobbying west coast
schools to take more interest in Andre. One of those schools happened to be the one her son
would eventually pick over a couple Big Ten teams who had recruited Patterson back he was an
unknown lanky forward at some town called Fort Wayne Indiana. UCLA will get the services of
Andre Patterson Jr, winning out over Michigan and Kentucky. Purdue began the slide off
Patterson's list after the release of assistant Frank Kendrick a year ago.
Things that make you go "hmmmmmmm"...why was assistant Jay Price overheard at a recent alumni
function saying Purdue could possibly bring in four new players next year? Three scholarships
and a walkon? For those thinking Purdue has suffered from having a head coach overseas during
a prime fall recruiting period and an inexperienced, new recruiting assistant in Cuonzo Martin,
why are the coaches so upbeat about recruiting this fall? Because the staff believes they
are doing so well with so many high quality kids this fall, they claim they could sign ten
players if they had the scholarships. Looking at the class of 2002, Indianapolis Pike
forward Parnell Smith has been followed this summer by Brian Gregory of Michigan State, and
more recently was invited to a football game by Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. However,
no one pursued Smith harder than Jay Price and Todd Foster this summer.
OCTOBER 8, 2000
Purdue is being listed by a top 2003 power forward in California, 6’8 Harrison Schaen from Santa
Ana (CA). Schaen was pegged as California's top 8th grader two years ago, and now is ranked
by more than a couple services as a top ten player nationally for the class of 2003. The PAC-10
is heavily favored on his list, but he also has his eyes set nationally. Arizona, California,
Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pepperdine, Purdue, San Diego, San Francisco,
Stanford, Syracuse, UCLA, USC, and Virginia are all on his lengthy early list.
Midwest Hoops is reporting that 6'8 forward Kelly Whitney of Chicago Marshall has committed
to the University of Michigan. Purdue was in the mix with Whitney, along with Illinois, Iowa,
Siena, New Mexico, Bradley and Alabama.
Today is the last day of the fall "contact period" for Division I men's basketball, which ends
in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations. The staff now enters into a "quiet
period" through November 15th, where in-person recruiting contacts are only allowed to be
made on-campus. The early signing period, where prospects can sign letter-of-intent to attend
specific universities, begins on November 8th and runs through November 15th.
NM center Chris Jackson picture of one of the four schools he has on his list may be getting
a little fuzzy. Stanford, New Mexico, Utah and Purdue have all made Jackson's final four.
However, Stanford yesterday received a verbal from 2001 center Robert Little of Fairfax, VA.
Little is rated as the 33rd best 2001 prospect by Dave Telep. Stanford can add a couple
more players, but looks to be turning focus toward a small forward now and may only burn one
more scholarship for the 2001 class. One of those players is Colorado's Matt Carroll, another
player with Purdue high on his list. Back to Jackson, he has been rated by Telep as the 76th
best 2001 prospect, in a deep class for quality centers. Jackson will not make a decision until
after his October 28th visit to Purdue. Purdue will be his last campus visit.
Roy and Harv have an update on some Illinois prospects, including a mention of Marcellus
Sommerville and his list of choices.
About half way down in this article is an evaluation of Sommerville from last weekend's
Gibbons Fall Evaluation Clinic. Purdue was said to be there checking him out.
Big Ten Update: Here are a few commitments that have occurred over the past few days...
Indiana has received a much needed fill at point guard. Donald Perry, a 6'2 point guard from
Reuben McCall HS (LA), chose Indiana over Tulane and St. Louis. The most encouraging comment
from Perry regarding his commitment has been his bond with the program, not the coach. Not
only does this give Indiana a good chance of retaining him if a new coach is hired at Indiana
after this season, it also is a refreshingly contrasting view when compared to most athletes
who primarily commit to a coach...then look elsewhere when the coach moves on. It is the
difference between respecting a coach through the university, or respecting the
university through the coach. The difference between being a student-athlete and being an
athlete-student. Perry averaged 22.5 points and eight assists as a junior. Indiana has now
filled all scholarships for the Class of 2001.
Minnesota has filled scholarship four, and now looks to fill scholarship five after this
weekend. Due to the new NCAA 5/8 rule, programs are limited to no more than five new
scholarship grants per year, and eight over two years. Scholarship four for the incoming
class of 2001-2002 went to 6'8 forward O'Neal Mims of Austin (TX). Mims averaged 15 points
and 12 rebounds as a junior. Minnesota head coach Dan Monson would love scholarship five to
go to Duluth East (MN) 6'10 power forward Rick Rickert, who will be on the Minnesota campus
this coming weekend. Rickert is a consensus top 15 player with a final list of Duke,
Arizona and Minnesota.
Michigan has got to be looking like a logjam for JaQuan Hart now, following a verbal from
2001 wing forward Chuck Bailey of Detroit Martin Luther King HS. The 6'7 wing player joins
2001 6'3 shooting guard Dommanic Ingerson and 2002 6'6 winger Lester Abrams as recently
verballed recruits for Michigan. Still, JaQuan Hart is scheduled for an official visit
to Michigan on October 20th. You have to wonder how comments Hart has made about playing time
concerns and being a leader will factor into the decision now that Michigan has signed another
wing forward. Tobie Smith has an update on Hart, stating Hart is a priority. But this was
written before the news of Bailey's verbal.
Gene Keady is back from the Olympics, but he isn't exactly home yet. The Indianapolis Star
has some comments from Keady on his immediate return to recruiting. The talk in the article
about frequent air travel is referring to Keady's non-stop visitation of Purdue prospects
since his return. He is flying to the town of each prospect and meeting with the player,
family members and high school coaches to reaffirm Purdue's interest and desire to have
them in the program. Recent trips to Ohio and Illinois will be followed in the next two
days with trips to Colorado and Texas.
2001 forward Adam Waleskowski will be on Purdue's campus this weekend for yet another unofficial
visit. While in Mackey, he does plan to suit up and play some pickup with the team before
the Michigan game.
Street & Smith has named Boiler prospect Darmetreis Kilgore a first team juco
all-american in this year's preseason preview. Purdue's lone verbal to date from the Class
of 2001, Brandon McKnight, must have really impressed the editors and scouts from the
magazine. He is the only player to be named both an honorable mention all-american AND a
high-honorable mention all-american. Joining McKnight on the high-honorable mention list
are Chris Jackson, JaQuan Hart, Aaron Patterson, Marcellus Sommerville and Adam Waleskowski.
Matt Carroll and former Boiler prospect Andre Patterson made the honorable mention list.
As for underclassmen, Lafayette CC's Tyler Best made the high-honorable mention list
containing approximately 80 players, along with Providence-St. Mel's Stan Gaines. Two
additional Purdue prospects, Tyler Clevenger of Winchester and Justin Johnson of Merrillville,
were named to the honorable mention underclassmen list.
Wawasee junior guard Shanna Zolman has scheduled a press conference for next Tuesday to announce
her college decision. It is widely speculated she will pick Tennessee.
Street & Smith has hit the stands with their preseason magazine, and Ben Davis' Shyra Ely
leads the list of first team all-americans. Other players of interest named all-american are
T'nea Thiel (second team), Cisti Greenwalt (third team), junior Ann Strother (fourth team) and
Ashley Allen (fourth team). The magazine also named Ben Davis the preseason No.1 team in the
nation.
Today's Journal and Courier had a recruiting update from Mike Carmin, listing the official
visits for several top Purdue prospects. I have added a list of names and dates to the top of
the page.
OCTOBER 4, 2000
The field is set for the second annual Times Region Roundball Rumble which will be held December
2nd at the Hammond Civic Center, Hammond, IN. The Rumble will feature four games, beginning at
11am, 1pm, 6pm and 8pm. The 11am game has defending state Class A champion Lafayette Central
Catholic facing Bishop Noll. Lafayette Central Catholic will put 6'8 Tyler Best, 6'5 Russell
Trudeau and 6'4 Kristof Kendrick up against arguably the best big man in northern Indiana,
6'9 sophomore Kenneth Harris. Harris has already verbally committed to Valparaiso University.
The 1pm game has two local teams playing, Lake Central and LaPorte. After a late afternoon
break, action begins again at 6pm with Gary Westside and Bullitt Central (KY). West continues
to schedule out-of-state competition, this time bringing in a Kentucky team to the Rumble. The
obvious two prospects to watch at West are the much mentioned juniors Brandon Cameron and Chris
Hunter, but also watch for shooting guard Duane Cooper and a host of additional talent on a
packed roster. In the 8pm game, Xavier-bound 6'8 senior Will Caudle, Indiana State-bound senior
6'0 Terren Wilson and Indianapolis Warren Central take on 6'7 junior Justin Johnson, 6'0
senior Lonnie Randolph and Merrillville High.
OCTOBER 2, 2000
Purdue is still being mentioned with 6'9 Ousmane Cisse, along with a dozen other major programs.
This update denies internet rumors claiming he has already given a secret verbal to Louisville.
In a conversation with juco sophomore power forward Sam Hoskin, who recently verballed
to DePaul, Russ Blake discovers Purdue made Hoskin's final four before choosing DePaul.
Purdue, Michigan and Houston all got calls last Monday from Hoskin to say he was choosing the
Blue Demons.
Two new articles on 6-foot-5 center Cisti Greenwalt on the Albuquerque Journal site. The
first talks mainly on her recruitment. She has narrowed her list to five...New Mexico, Texas
Tech, Oklahoma, Arizona State and Purdue. Purdue was also in town to see her last Monday, and
she has no other visits scheduled after this weekend's visit to New Mexico, due to her concentration
on the high school volleyball season. The second article has Cisti being named a national top
ten player by Blue Star Recruiting, and her father coming through on a promise made
to her if she were ever to be named a top ten player. Two very nice write-ups.
Prospect Sam Hoskin from Schoolcraft CC, a 6-foot-8 power forward ranked as the fifth best at
his position in the juco sophomore class by analyst Rick Ball, has verbally committed
to DePaul. Hoskin had been scheduled to visit Michigan this coming weekend with Andre Patterson,
but cancelled after a successful sales pitch by DePaul last weekend.
Contrary to printed reports, JaQuan Hart has not yet cancelled his remaining visit to Michigan.
According to Tobie at The Wolverine who spoke with Hart yesterday, Hart is
down to Iowa, Purdue and Michigan and will choose sometime before November 15. All three
are said to be even.
Rick Ball, a recruiting analyst who covers the junior college circuit well, has Tyler
(TX) wing guard Darmetreis Kilgore rated the third best among juco wing guards. He also rates
former East Chicago forward Carlton Baker as the nation's fourth best small forward among
juco sophomores. Purdue needs a perimeter scorer from the class of 2001. Including JaQuan Hart,
who rates as the nation's fifth best shooting guard among high school seniors, Purdue is on
three top five players at their position.
Andre Patterson has reduced his list to three -- Michigan, UCLA, and Kentucky -- and will visit
with UCLA's Steve Lavin in-home tonight. PacWest's Greg Hicks has Andre's official visit
dates...
"They all have good academics, good coaches and good programs," Matt Carroll told PacWest's
Greg Hicks, referring to his final four of Stanford, Utah, Purdue and Vanderbilt. Carroll
will host an in-home with Gene Keady upon his return from Sydney and the Olympics, and will
take an official visit with Purdue on October 13th. PacWest has Carroll rated as the second-best
power forward on the west coast.
Over a week ago we got word from a good source, then verified it with a second, that Sean Kline
had contacted Purdue to let them know he was going to look at other programs again. Then on
Monday Sean Kline again committed to Indiana. In today's Huntington Herald Press, Kline talked
about his situation and recommitment, and also mentioned he indeed did contact both Purdue
and Michigan State. As always, thanks to everyone for keeping their ears open.
Breaking news (10:45pm)...Jacqueline Batteast, a 6-foot-1 forward from South Bend Washington HS, has
given a verbal commitment to Notre Dame following a weekend visit.
(11:20pm) The commitment has been confirmed by WSBT-TV in South Bend.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2000
Here's an excellent article for players wanting to be recruited. It talks about the importance
of taking the initiative and contacting the programs of interest, finding out what camps your
favorite coaches will be working, and how to gauge any return interest.
2001 forward Adam Waleskowski of Kettering (OH) is scheduling another look at Purdue. We talked
with Adam's father a week ago and found out he will be making another unoffical visit to
Purdue. At that time it was tentatively scheduled for Homecoming, but Dave Telep reports
Adam has now changed it to October 4th. The move is likely due to the fact Coach Keady will
be in Sydney with the Olympics. Closing ceremonies are October 1st. While Adam awaits Keady's
return to the country, he is busy organizing his visits and is pretty much handling his own
recruiting agenda. "He is really working on this himself," said Pete Waleskowski, "taking
responsibility so that he makes the best decision for his future. My wife and I are sitting
back and supporting the process...which we believe is in his best interest long term." Waiting
to talk with Coach Keady gives Adam the chance to ask where he fits in, plus gives the parents
the opportunity to again bond with the full coaching staff. Having a coach that is down-to-earth
is important to the Waleskowskis. "The coaches at Purdue are really down to earth, which we
really liked," added Pete Waleskowski. "The only program that is recruiting Adam that is as
close in that regard is Xavier." According to Dave Telep's update in the link below,
Purdue and Xavier are still on the list with Dayton, Penn State, Florida State and Tennessee.
Here's an excellent article for players wanting to be recruited. It talks about the importance
of taking the initiative and contacting the programs of interest, finding out what camps your
favorite coaches will be working, and how to gauge any return interest.
Michigan State update: Dave Telep breaks the story that Indianapolis point guard Chris
Hill has verballed to Michigan State during a weekend visit. Hill, a 6-foot-2 165-pound guard
from Indianapolis Lawrence North, averaged 17 points, four rebounds and four assists as a
junior, shooting 86-percent from the line.
Marcus Sommerville will receive an in-home visit from Purdue on Thursday, September 28th.
Illinois, Bradley, Iowa, St. Louis, Kentucky and Purdue are getting his attention this
fall. In other news, Illinois wing forward Najeeb Echols has eliminated Purdue, and
Andre Patterson Jr. is down to Michigan, UCLA, Kentucky and Kansas.
Ousmane Cisse, a 6-8 power forward and top 10 prospect, was interviewed recently and shed
some light on his recruiting situation. Some of the interesting comments to note...Purdue
was in town recently to observe him and will get an in-home when Keady returns from the
Olympics, and he has his eye on playing one of the two forward spots in college.
Here's an update on California guard Courtney Young, with a little bit of background info on
her young basketball career so far. She has a final five of Purdue, Ohio State, Georgia,
Tennessee, and Duke.
Big Ten update: The Wisconsin Badgers have received a verbal commitment from 5-foot-11 Milwaukee
point guard Shawna Nichols. Nichols averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assists and 3.4 steals as a
junior, and has been named a USA Today honorable mention all-american two years
running. Nichols chose the Badgers over Marquette, Iowa, NC State and Drake.
In the "that didn't last very long" department, indications are that Sean Kline has reaffirmed
his decision to attend Indiana.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2000
Emily Heikes, a 6-foot-0 center from Stagg HS near Chicago, has verballed to Purdue and will
sign in November. Here are some details on her decision, and her new MrHoops player profile.
Chris Jackson has narrowed his list to four, and has in-homes and officials set up with them
over the next month. Beginning the first weekend in October and continuing each weekend until
all four have been visited, Jackson plans to visit Stanford, New Mexico, Utah and Purdue. As
this article points out, Jackson wants to see each before making a decision at the end of
October.
Purdue continues the press on Tyler JC small forward Darmetreis Kilgore, as Cuonzo Martin is
seen visiting Tyler. Kilgore still has Purdue leading UNLV, Cincinnati and Illinois.
In a surprise move to most, 6-foot-5 shooting guard Alan Anderson of DeLaSalle HS (MN) has
verbally committed to Michigan State. After narrowing his list to Michigan State, Kansas,
Minnesota, Iowa, and Louisville, Anderson took visits to Minnesota and Kansas before finally visiting
and verballing to Michigan State. With the recent wing guard additions to the University of
Michigan, it now looks very likely Hart will be playing for an out-of-state school in the Big
Ten. Frontrunners appear to still be Iowa and Purdue.
Purdue is still being mentioned in the running for 2001 6-foot-10 center Ousmane Cisse, as
Cisse awaits a home visit from the Purdue staff. With Cisse likely to trim his list to five
to seven school in a week, Purdue had better hurry...
Word has it that Sean Kline has contacted Purdue to let the staff know he is again looking at
programs. Kline committed to Bob Knight in July and still may end up signing with Indiana in the
long run. But he has re-opened his recruitment to make sure he has made the right decision
in choosing Indiana.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2000
Mentioned so long ago we have almost forgotten about him, Georgia swingman Josh Pace has
verballed to Syracuse.
Another long ago mentioned player, Tamal Forchion of Philadelphia Roman Catholic (PA), has pared
his list to four schools. St. Joseph's, St. Bonaventure, and LaSalle and George Washington are
all still in the running. Forchion shows the potential to be a high major talent, but is
overshadowed by the fact he is a 6-foot-6 power player. After spending his junior season playing
behind all-world senior Eddie Griffin, then breaking his wrist and mising the entire summer
circuit, Forchion's better days are still ahead of him. Talk is that Forchion could wait until
the spring signing period and be in play with high major programs looking to fill gaps, but
he will likely not wait that long.
Tiffanie Guthrie, visited the Illini over the weekend, and liked the package so much she
gave a verbal commitment. The 5-foot-10 swing player from Trotwood HS in Ohio averaged 23
points per game as a junior, and was named the MVP of this summer's AAU National tournament.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2000
September 7th marked the beginning of another NCAA contact period for coaches. The September
contact period, which runs through October 6th, is the time of year where most coaches schedule
in-home visits with prospects and set up official visits. Each prospect can have an unlimited
number of in-home visits, but is only allowed five paid official visits to college campuses.
Colleges also do not have a limit on the number of in-home visits they can make, but Purdue's
limit for hosting prospects for official visits this year is four. New NCAA rules do limit
the number of days a program can use for recruiting within that one month period. Coaches are
only allowed to recruit 18 days between now and October 6th. Purdue's first in-home
is scheduled with 6-foot-8 forward Matt Carroll of Smokey Hill HS (CO). Carroll, according to
Russ Blake, has eight in-homes scheduled. While Purdue will get one of the earliest
opportunities to impress Carroll, being the first visit is not always an indication of a
player's top choice. David Lee for instance, who invited Kansas in for his first in-home
visit, cancelled after giving a verbal commitment to Florida last week. Some other known
first day visits with some prospects being mentioned with Purdue...Alan Anderson (Minnesota),
Jamaal Williams (New Mexico), Jason McCoy (Houston), JaQuan Hart (Iowa) and Levar Seals
(DePaul).
According to Lavar Seals, Purdue is asking about a home visit with the 6-foot-4 shooting guard
from Providence-St. Mel. Here's more, in his own words...
We are also hearing that Purdue is talking to California 6-foot-5 small forward Jamaal Williams
about setting up a home visit.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2000
If you listen to the Albuquerque media, they are fairly confident Clovis (NM) center Cisti
Greenwalt will be a University of New Mexico Lady Lobo soon. This article talks about Cisti's
friendship with current Lobo Jordan Adams and San Diego (CA) senior Alexis Tate, who visited
New Mexico on Friday.
St. Louis Chaminade forward David Lee has verbally committed to the University of Florida.
August 30, 2000
The Purdue coaches will be making a home visit with Texas small forward Jason McCoy on
September 12. He's a "not so small" small forward at 6-foot-9 and 175-pounds. Purdue is
one of 11 schools currently scheduled to visit McCoy next month.
Minneapolis DeLaSalle's Alan Anderson will be making an official visit to Minnesota on September
29 and 30.
Former Indianapolis Star sports writer Bill Hodge thinks 6-foot-10 2001 center Nathan
Loehrke of Mattawan (MI) is close to a commitment to Northwestern. And there may be nothing
more than a hunch behind it, but FastBreak Recruiting thinks 2001 center Chris Jackson
will eventually choose Purdue.
Gary Westside's 6-foot-9 Chris Hunter is featured among a list of the top big men in
the deep class of 2002 by High Major Hoops.
The University of Michigan has landed a verbal commitment from 2001 6-foot-6 swingman Lester Abrams
of Pontiac (MI). This could very much influence the decision of 6-foot-5 JaQuan Hart, and
on a smaller scale 6-foot-7 combo forward Andre Patterson. Abrams should work himself into
a nice bunch of minutes for Michigan, which would have Hart sharing time. Hart unofficially
visited Michigan last Thursday to discuss his academic progress. Two days later, Abrams
verballed to UM. More on Hart's academics (he's close) from Tobie Smith...
And lastly...Purdue's thin frontline could soon be getting some help from an old friend...
August 29, 2000
Congratulations to the Purdue women's basketball family, as we welcome the birth of
Kristy and Kelly Curry's first born...Kelsey Ann Curry! Kelsey Ann was born on August 28
at 4:15pm, weighing 8 pounds and 12 ounces. Witnesses say she is already a good dribbler.
Sorry, couldn't help myself...
Those in Chicago planning on scouting trips to Whitney Young to check out Najeeb Echols
better highlight a new route on the map. Echols has transferred to Chicago Leo, and will
be out of the Chicago Public League and into the Chicago Catholic League. This move will
have an impact on his recruiting, as Illinois and Missouri are now said to be leaders.
According to Roy and Harv Schmidt, recruiting direction and who would control it were factors
in the move.
Some new visit info on 6-foot-5 forward Jamaal Williams on Dave Telep's site. Telep
mentions Purdue has contacted Williams about setting up a visit, but has yet to offer. In the
meantime, Williams already has seven in-homes scheduled.
Kevin Stallings Update: Vanderbilt has landed a verbal from class of 2002 point guard
Mario Moore of Antioch HS (TN). Moore averaged 15 points per game as a sophomore for 30-5
Antioch. Stallings is also hot after two of Moore's AAU teammates, including center David
Harrison, who will be visiting with Stallings in his home on the 18th of September. Duke
is also after the 7-foot-0 240-pound center, so landing him would definitely make a strong
statement on Stallings recruiting abilities.
Purdue, Iowa and Iowa State are still looking at Chicago power forward Kelly Whitney from
Chicago Marshall, but academics are a concern. So much so that Purdue wants to see Whitney's
academic performance before thinking about offering. According to Russ Blake, Indiana State,
Siena, Bradley and St. Joseph's already have offered.
Habersham Central HS power forward Ricky Sadler has reduced his list to five, a list that
includes Eastern Kentucky, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Purdue. Sadler, at 6-foot-8
and 215-pounds, averaged 15 points and nine rebounds last season as a junior. For a list of
his home visits, check out Russ' update on Insider's Report...
New Mexico has home visits set up with a couple Purdue prospects next month. The Lobos will be
visiting the homes of Matt Carroll (9/10) and 6-foot-5 swingman Jamaal Williams (9/7). Williams
-- who lists Purdue along with Kansas, UCLA, New Mexico, Syracuse, Florida State, Villanova,
Georgia Tech, and Saint Louis -- is a top target of New Mexico and has the honor of being their
first home visit.
A couple of scholarship issues in the news today. The rumor had been flying around since
Sunday, but today the Athletic Department verified the rumor. Returning 6-foot-9 sophomore
power forward Adam Wetzel will be ineligible to play for the first semester of the upcoming
season. While his GPA is reportedly fine, Wetzel fell short of the required 24 credit hours
he needed his freshman year to remain eligible. He plans on rejoining the team this winter.
Also in the news, a report that walkons Travis Best and Willie Deane have been awarded
scholarships for the 2000-2001 season.
We've mentioned the name Sam Hoskin on this page a few times before. We heard Keady scouted the
6-foot-8 245-pound big man this summer, and have heard Purdue pop up on his list. Now, his
high school coach says Purdue is one of eight schools to have offered him a scholarship.
Hoskin, a power forward from Schoolcraft C.C. in Michigan, transferred from Eastern Kentucky
after a coaching change. If Hoskin can finish his degree this upcoming year, he will have
two years of eligibility remaining at a Division I program.
Pulling double duty at his own site of JuCo Junction and Insider's Report, Russ Blake not only
brings us the news about Hoskin above, but also emailed news that Purdue has made the final six
on the list of Houston Milby HS (TX) small forward Jason McCoy. As a junior, McCoy averaged
14 points, eight rebounds, four steals, five blocks and three assists. His final six consists
of Purdue, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Colorado State, Tulane and South Florida.
Insider's Report also talked to the guardian of senior center Ousmane Cisse of Saint Jude
Education Institute of Montgomery, AL to find the Boilers making an in-home visit with
the highly skilled shotblocker. Cisse has impressed everyone on the summer circuit this
year, sending him into the top ten in his class. With fellow top ten centers Eddy Curry and
Tyson Chandler still likely to go straight to the NBA, Cisse is probably the top center likely
to go to college. The kid can really run the floor. On offense, he will try to dunk on his
opponent 90-percent of the time. His long arms make it almost improbably to get a shot off
on him in the paint. He also doesn't get baited off his feet too often. He's got some flash
too, showing occassionally he is more than a dunking and blocking machine. At 6'10, 240-pounds
and a 9-foot-plus reach, he's the most talented center Purdue has been involved with in years.
Cisse ranks 9th in his class according to Prep Stars. Purdue is one of 12 schools
Cisse's guardian thinks will visit his home in September.
Sources say 6-foot-0 rising senior forward T'nae Thiel of Canyon High (TX) along with her
rising junior sister Teagan, will be moving out of the Canyon school district and will
end up at Weatherford if the state athletic association allows them to play. A major reason
for the move is the divorce of their parents. T'nae's mother has a sister in the Weatherford
school district. The Canyon athletic department has confirmed the two have left Canyon. T'nae
led Canyon with 17 points per game last year to a 35-2 record.
There are also unconfirmed reports that 6-foot-3 center Debbie Merrill of Cumberland City (TN)
will be moving to a school in Ohio. Merrill is a high Division I prospect ranked most recently
as the 31st best prospect in the class of 2001 by Women's Basketball Journal.
Dave Telep is reporting that Will Caudle, the 6-foot-9 power forward from Warren Central
(Indianapolis), has given a verbal commitment to Xavier.
A hot topic for recruiting over the next year will be the discussions and actions coming
from the recently formed NCAA 16-member Basketball Issues Committee. A new article from
ESPN's Andy Katz talks a little about the construction of the committee, designed to include
a variety of voices from current college coaches to student-athlete repesentatives. While the
early view saw summer basketball as a large threat to the NCAA, the current view does not look
to eliminate it. One problem discussed is how coaches skirt the rules on phone calls to
recruits by using "house" phones, untraceable cell phones, pay phones and the phones of
other people. Some coaches have gotten into the habit of phoning prospects after each summer
basketball game, which violates the "one phone call per week" limit set by the NCAA. The
ghestapo-like suggestion made by one coach of planting NCAA people in hotels is an alarming
statement.
The Prospect Rankings page has been updated, adding new ranking lists from OnCourt Indiana,
Prep Hoops and PrepStars. We also have an early look from Prep Hoops at the rankings for the
class of 2004.
A couple of updates on Peoria Central's Marcellus Sommerville and Whitney Young's Najeeb
Echols. While Purdue isn't mentioned in the article on Echols, Sommerville is said to
have a scholarship offer from Purdue and Michigan State.
A wealth of junior college information in an article on the ESPN site, with mentions of
Keady, Darmetreis Kilgore, Sam Hoskin, former East Chicago forward Carlton Baker, and
former Lafayette Central Catholic forward Eric Washington. The guys from Recruiting USA
provide scouting on the players from last month's Jerry Mullen's All-Star Review. The camp
featured junior college players, and Gene Keady was said to be "paying special attention"
to his game. Keady has also been seen scouting Hoskins this summer.
Big Ten Update: Two top Pennsylvania guards have verballed to Penn State, and immediately
placed Penn State as having one of the top classes so far for the Class of 2001. Penn State
has landed ASGR's No.11 and No. 52 players in 5-foot-11 wing guard Tanisha Wright and
5-foot-8 point guard Jess Strom.
This is the closest you will ever get to having Carolyn Peck in Playboy magazine. Peck
has been named as one of the "hottest" women in the WNBA by Playboy. Forget being one of
the "hottest" women in the WNBA. We can't wait until she is named the "hottest" coach in
the NBA, and the honor doesn't refer to her appearance! The link is not included due to
nude graphics on the top banner of the page featuring Peck...who is fully clothed.
It wasn't the first time the Waleskowski family had been on the Purdue campus. AAU
tournaments brought them to campus before. Interest from the Purdue coaches throughout the
summer brought them back on Sunday, this time inside the offices of the coaching staff
for an unofficial visit.
Marcellus Sommerville, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Peoria Central, continues to show
interest in Purdue. A report says Sommerville will look to stay close to home, and schools
still on his list include (from the closest to Peoria to the most distant) Bradley,
Illinois, Purdue and Valparaiso. Illinois and Purdue are in the same boat with 6-foot-6
players from Illinois, as both Najeeb Echols and Sommerville list the schools. Echols
visited the Illini on Saturday.
We contacted a Purdue alum in Lubbock yesterday who has recently become one of Erica Valek's
biggest fans. Here's what he had to say about one of Purdue's newest additions..."I
attended a farewell gathering for Erika Valek, before she left for Purdue on
Saturday morning. I had been following her via the local media ever since I heard
that Purdue recruited her over Texas Tech. A few months ago I mailed her an issue of
GBI that featured the women's basketball program. She got back to me with a nice letter,
offering to meet. This evening I was able to spend a little time getting to know her
and her family, as well as some local family friends. Darn, I forgot to notice if her
friends had satellite because they are now going to be Purdue fans - satellite TV
would be very useful to Purdue fans in Big-12 country. Anyway, Erika is a very nice
young lady, and I sense she has the type of personality that brings people together.
We know about her ability on the court, but perhaps she'll have the right talent off
the court to be a great addition to, and a force for unity on, the women's team. Her
mother and father are relocating to near Indianapolis (temporarily in Zionsville with
some relatives), where her Dad will be looking for work. I think she said he was a
tennis pro. Erika has 2 sisters, one that looks a few years younger, and a new four
month old. Just a very nice family. I got my picture taken with them, being one of
the few Purdue grads in town. She was wearing a Purdue shirt at the gathering
(good sign!). One day, years from now, when she's playing pro I'm sure I'll enjoy
looking at that picture from time to time.
Erika is good friends with Landon Johnson (same high school), so this will help her
transition to Purdue. I know we're all hoping Landon's back stays healthy. Perhaps
this Lubbock TX duo will be making some major impacts at Purdue over the next four
years. I wish Erika and her family a safe trip - this is a big move for them."
August 12, 2000
A newspaper report is stating UCONN may be backing off New York's 5-foot-10 Clare Droesch,
but goes on to state she will "probably decide between Notre Dame and Boston College."
Incoming freshman Erica Valek is preparing to come to Lafayette, and she will be bringing her
family with her. In a Lubbock newspaper article, Valek stated her parents would be trying
to move to Indianapolis.
High Major Hoops has an update on JaQuan Hart, who has nice things to say about
his visit to Purdue. On Purdue, Hart said "I kind of liked that visit even better [than a
recent visit to Iowa] and their coaching staff was excellent too, that was the best thing
about it."
Erica Valek had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals as her North squad
beat the South squad 84-78 in the Texas Girls Coaching Association Division II All-Star game.
Here is a link to a summary of last month's game...
Insider's Report has an update on 2001 center Nate Loehrke. The 6-foot-10,
240-pound center from Mattawan (MI) has a new list of offers, and Purdue remains listed
as a consideration. Loehrke averaged 16 points and eight rebounds as a junior.
Purdue is currently listed by the still wide open Najeeb Echols, a 6-foot-7 225-pound
2001 forward/guard from Chicago Young. Echols, who jumped to #10 in Bob Gibbons' post-summer rankings,
can play multiple positions from point to power forward. Echols plans to sign in November.
The complete story from the Sun-Times back on August 6th...
Big Ten Update: It did not take long for Wisconsin to gain some relief for the recent
loss of small forward Julian Swartz for the 2000-2001 season. The Badgers received a
verbal commitment from Nampa (ID) guard Ricky Bower. Bower will be eligible to play
the 2000-2001 season, after recently returning from a two-year Mormon mission in Poland.
He spent one season in junior college prior to the mission, and will have three years
of eligibility remaining at Wisconsin. Swartz, citing personal reasons for his temporary
departure, plans to return to the program for the 2001-2002 season.
In our last installment of point/counter point for the summer, Steve and Capri depart from
a Lady Boiler topic to address a larger issue. As women's basketball grows in popularity,
it will find itself facing matters that up to this point have only concerned men. We take
sides on one such topic, players leaving college before they have used up their eligibility.
A nice article in the Dayton Daily on Ohio United, the Ohio-based 18-under AAU squad
featuring Purdue signee Beth Jones and prospect Tiffanie Guthrie. The link will not be
good for long...
Geri Woessner, 2000, Oakwood HS, (Wittenberg University)
Brittany Young, 2000, Pickerington, (Cincinnati)
August 9, 2000
Big Ten Women's Update: A key Illini reserve has transferred to Iowa. Point guard Kristi Faulkner,
who averaged 5.1 points off the bench for the Illini last year, has transferred to Iowa.
Faulkner is a former all-Illinois high school player who was also named a Big Ten Player
of the Week last season.
The Wolverine has an update on 2001 guard JaQuan Hart, who now says he is likely to make
an announcement sometime in September. The plan is to take some official visits after school
starts and get the decision out of the way. Coaches will make home visits in September.
Purdue is among his top six of Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Purdue, and
Marquette. Hart tells the Wolverine he has no favorite.
In the same article, also pay some attention to the blurb on Detroit power forward Sam
Hoskins. Keady has been spotted scouting this BIG man this summer. Although Purdue isn't
listed in this article, Purdue has been mentioned in other articles as a potential
destination.
Levar Seals to Siena, or not? A new report says Providence St. Mel off-guard Levar Seals has
not yet made a commitment to Siena, as has been reported on many sites. Purdue is not listed
among the programs who have offered, but is listed as a program who has "recently"
shown some interest. Purdue is aggressively recruiting a shooting guard, and this makes
yet another top rated 2001 guard Purdue has targeted.
According to Hoop Scoop online, JaQuan Hart has had such an outstanding impact on scouts that
he will rise to #24 among his class when their new rankings are released. It is not
surprising Andre Patterson has risen to #14, with all the coverage he has been given this
summer. With all the newcomers looking at Patterson, it will be interesting to see how much
he values schools like Michigan and Purdue, two schools who recruited him when he wasn't
ranked anywhere near anyone's top 200.
August 7, 2000
A new article has good news and bad news about the recruiting of Cisti Greenwalt. Purdue has
made her top five schools and she will make an official visit to the Boilers, However, her
mother has never missed either a volleyball or basketball game she has played in and plans
to continue attending her game in college. Purdue is far and away the longest distance form
home among her top five. As a side note, the group of fans that showed up in force to
cheer for Greenwalt is a club called the "Three-Point Club", a Lobo booster organization.
Purdue is on the list of Minnesota's Alan Anderson, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from
DeLaSalle HS. More on this top-rated junior in his recently completed profile...
Wisconsin is now a school mentioned as a possible favorite, along with Purdue, for 6-foot-6
swing player JaQuan Hart according to a Madison newspaper report. "Hart, who looks like
a young Reggie Miller, is a quick and agile scorer who also passes extremely well. Hart is
being pursued by a number of Big Ten teams and Marquette. But Purdue and Wisconsin -- both
of which have offered him a scholarship -- appear to be the leaders at the moment,
according to sources." More on Wisconsin targets here...
Big Ten Update: Wisconsin has received a verbal from Washington Iowa shooting guard Stephanie
Rich. The 5-foot-11 two-time Iowa Class 3A player of the year averaged 22.4 points, 7.7
rebounds, 5.3 steals and 4.1 assists per game as a junior last season. She also carries a 3.4
GPA and will major in business.
Indianapolis Pike's Parnell Smith, a 6'6 forward, has been named one of the top
rising sophomores at this summer's Five-Star camps by FastBreak. The author writes...
At 6-6, all he needs is a little more development on the perimeter, but has good range
and defends many different positions.
A list of the top 100 rising seniors has been released by MidwestHoops. Included among
the elite of Purdue interest are Alan Anderson (6'6 SF, Minneapolis MN) at #25, Jaquan Hart
(6'5 SG, Flint MI) at #31, Quemont Greer (6'6 SF, Milwaukee WI) at #60, Andre Patterson
(6'7 PF/SF, Los Angeles CA) and Matt Carroll (6'8 PF/SF, Aurora CO).
Coach Keady was a featured guest on ESPN's Outside the Lines on Sunday. Also joined
by the Chairman of the SEC Conference Roy Kramer and former Nike and current Adidas Camp
organizer Sonny Vaccaro, the program discussed changes in summer recruiting. As the
transcript shows, Keady seems to favor a shorter two-week recruiting window in the summer,
as well as a new recruiting window in the spring. The NCAA is recommending the gradual
elimination of the summer recruiting window in exchange for more evaluation time given
during the high school basketball season.
"Anyone who wants the front row, go ahead," says Curry, who is eight months pregnant.
"I need the back row so I have this bar as back support." This quote is from an
article by Newsday discussing the summer camps and how the coaches view their
roles at the camps. Kristy Curry was one of many coaches discussed, as well as a few players.
One player who is still considering Purdue, 5-foot-10 2001 shooter Clare Droesch from
Christ the King HS (NY), is featured as one of the players the reporter followed during the
camp. Droesch has UCONN and Boston College way out in front, but also lists Purdue, Notre Dame
and George Washington. Droesch, in another interview recently with a UCONN bias, said it
would be "awesome" "...to win a fourth title and then go to UConn and win a national
championship...".
The AAU national website has a team photo up for the 18-under national champs, Ohio United.
As we reported last week, prospect Tiffanie Guthrie was named the MVP of the team. She's #22
in the photo. Purdue fans may also recognize #30 as incoming freshman Beth Jones.
Assistant coach Pam Stackhouse has the recruiting assignment of following Shyra Ely
around this week. Yesterday, Stackhouse watched Ely at the United States Junior National
Championship Tournament at American University. Shanna Zolman with Indiana Force AAU
is also playing in the same tournament. Although undefeated, Ely's The Family AAU
program will go no further in the USJN tournament. Today the team will hop a plane
for Orlando (FL) to compete in the AAU Junior Olympics to be held July 27th through
August 4th.
BIG TEN UPDATE: Indiana University has received a verbal from Highland (IN) rising senior
Jenny DeMuth. DeMuth, the 2000 Times Player of the Year and Junior All-Star, averaged 23.1
points and 10.5 rebounds last season. New head coach Kathi Bennett was key to her signing,
as was the fact both parents and her brother all attended Indiana.
More news from the Pitt 3 session of the Five Star Camp. Several Indiana players were
named to one of three camp all-star teams, including recognizable names Parnell Smith
and Kristof Kendrick.
2002 Gary West 6-foot-9 center Chris Hunter was named the 20th best undeclassmen at the
recently concluded Nike Peach Jam AAU tournament. Hunter's team, Bloomington Red, finished
the tournament with a 2-3 record.
The list for 2001 center prospect Adam Waleskowski continues to grow in length and quality.
Now listed are Xavier, Dayton, Tennessee, Syracuse, Clemson, Purdue, Penn St., Georgia
Tech, and Wake Forrest. The 6-foot-8 forward has also mentioned a possible visit to Purdue
soon.
Tyler Best is turning some heads at the Five-Star Camp, where one report says..."Tyler
Best proved why some call him the best rising Junior in the state of Indiana. Being
selected number one in the NBA draft at 6-9 he has the ability to play 2 or 3 different
positions." Also at the Pitt 3 camp with Best is Indianapolis Pike's 6'6 sophomore
Parnell Smith and Marion's 6'8 junior Kevin Cates.
The New Jersey Herald News has an article on prospect Nicole Louden and her experiences
at the Nike Camp last week. The article also makes some observations about the corporate
influence Nike hopes to make on these rising stars.
The Family, an Indiana AAU program featuring prospect Jacqueline Batteast, finished second
at the recently completed USJN 17-under tournament in Las Vegas. Here's details on the
winner, plus a look at the finals of the 17-under AAU national tournament and the naming
of the 17-under AAU all-americans.
Several Boiler prospects and one signee have been named AAU All-Americans. Prospect Tiffanie
Guthrie adds the title of AAU All-American and 18-under tournament MVP.
Hickory Husker has another game report on Team Indiana's championship run at the
200 Wendy's Classic. Some nice words about Brett Buscher and Austin Parkinson. [Hickory Husker]
The Wendy's Classic championship game between Team Indiana and Team Ohio will be
rebroadcast regionally on FoxSports Midwest on July 29th at 8:00pm (ET). The
consolation game between Team Illinois and Team Michigan precludes the championship
game, and broadcasts at 6pm. [FoxSports Schedule]
July 22, 2000
Team Indiana rolled to the title of this year's Wendy's Classic by defeating Team Ohio
97-85. [Active Dayton]
July 21, 2000
Former Purdue assistant coach Brock Touloukian (Purdue 86-87) has been named the new
Athletic Director for West Lafayette High. Touloukian leaves his position as Athletic
Director at Peru High. Word also has Brock's nephew, BJ Touloukian, following in his
uncle's Purdue footsteps. After talking with Coach Keady a few weeks ago, BJ plans to
be a basketball manager for the Boilers.
Anyone thinking Chris Thomas will look around for another school now that Matt Doherty has
jumped to the ACC should read this article... [McDonald's AA]
The Sun-Times' Taylor Bell has an update on the academic progress of most of
the top, signed recruits out of the Chicago area. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Wawasee's Shanna Zolman has been named as a 2000 AAU All-American by AAU national
tournament officials. For a complete list of honorees, go here... [All-Americans]
Ohio wing Tiffanie Guthrie will make a decision by the end of the month or in early August,
and will sit down after the conclusion of the AAU Nationals to narrow her choices.
Currently, Purdue, Penn State, Rutgers, UCONN, Syracuse, UCLA, Arizona, Butler, Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan and Dayton all have a shot. She has already unofficially visited a few
schools, including Dayton, Ohio State, Miami of Ohio and Kentucky. Tiffanie plans to
study sports medicine in college.
July 20, 2000
Team Indiana defeated Team Illinois in the Wendy's Classic on Thursday, 96-88. A forum
regular was at the game and has this report... [Forum - Joe Z]
July 19, 2000
If we look back about a month ago, Russ Blake did a story on Seward County CC
small forward Jason Robinson, who told of his strong interest in Purdue. At the time,
Robinson's father had said Purdue told them they didn't have a scholarship to offer.
Fast forward to the summer evaluation period, and we now see Purdue out of the picture
and Robinson looking at Buffalo, Providence, Louisiana Tech and Washington State. [Juco Junction]
The Journal and Courier broke the news early this morning that Purdue not only received
a visit from Cisti Greenwalt last Friday, but also from 5-foot-11 forward Tia Battle. And
another 5-foot-11 player, Angelina Williams, is also scheduled to stop by campus. A
recommendation from friend Erica Valek convinced Greenwalt to visit while in the neighborhood. [Journal and Courier]
July 18, 2000
MrHoops writers combine their notes and offer scouting reports for players who grabbed
attention at the 2000 Nike Girls All-American Camp. Below is a series of stories featuring
scouting reports, organized by jersey number.
I'd be wary of the source, but there is a new report on Andre Patterson. The author, Kurt
O'Neill has been known to be way off before (actually guaranteeing Jeffries would choose
the ACC). Plus the newest update says Michigan State has shown the most interest in
Patterson, which completely contradicts everything we know and have read about his
recruitment. I can only assume he meant Michigan instead of Michigan State, since he
has been to Ann Arbor many times and has said Michigan is among the top two. Anyway, here
is the article... [ACC Recruiting]
July 17, 2000
New profile up for 2001 center prospect Cisti Greenwalt of Clovis HS (NM), complete with
story links and our scouting report from the Nike Camp. [Greenwalt profile]
The 2000 Nike All-American Camp has opened in Indianapolis. We will have some camp reports
floating in over the next few days. In the meantime, this gives you a taste of what the camp
is all about. [MrHoops - Bob Richards]
I have uploaded some photos of players of interest from the Nike Camp. [Nike photos]
Shyra Ely and T'Nae Thiel both failed to make the cut to twelve for the USA Junior Qualifying
team in Colorado Springs. [MrHoops - Sarah Stevens]
Boiler assistant Todd Foster was headed over to the Morris Shoutout, a tournament featuring
Illinois high school teams. The recently concluded tournament crowned Aurora West High as
this year's champ over heavy favorite Whitney Young. In third place was Peoria Central,
the high school team of 6-foot-5 wing forward Marcellus Sommerville, who is still showing
interest in Purdue, along with Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin and UNC-Charlotte. [All-Star Report]
We have added a couple of photos from the Hoosier Shootout of Tyler Best and Russell Trudeau.
I have a few more somewhere from the tournament, if I can only manage to find them. [Photos]
July 16, 2000
To further his goals to move away from the basket, it looks as if Andre Patterson is
shopping around for a California program with an established big man already on the
roster. [CNNSI]
Over on the KentuckyWildcats.net site, our friend Adam Nicholas along with Marc Maggard have
put thier rankings of some of the players by position at Nike. Among those known to have
interest in Purdue, or visa-versa, include longshots Dennis Coutee (#7 2001 shooting guard),
David Lee (#2 2001 power forward), Isaiah Fox (#8 2001 center) and Jason Maxiell (#10 2001
power forward), along with Adam Waleskowski (#17 2001 power forward), Nathan Loherke (#11
2001 center) and Michael Thompson (#2 2002 center). [KentuckyWildcats.net]
We have summarized a few of the scouting reports we made at Nike last week into a camp
update. We spent quite a bit of time concentrating on big men and forwards. [MrHoops Story]
All Star Girls Report has their top 50 players in the class of 2001 on their site. Purdue
prospect Shyra Ely is ranked as the nation's top talent.
Purdue recruit Brandon McKnight led his team against a traveling team of collegiate signees
with 19 points. Team Black won the game 111-94 over McKnight's Team Yellow. [South Bend Tribune]
Pac-West Hoops is reporting that Andre Patterson was close to a Wednesday verbal
commitment to Michigan, but backed off and decided to wait for a while before making a
decision. [Pac-West Hoops]
The Wolverine also has a condensed version of what everyone has been saying about
Patterson after the Nike Camp. [The Wolverine]
July 14, 2000
Today's Purdue Exponent has an article on the newest additions, via transfer, to the
Boilermaker program. [Exponent]
July 13, 2000
Purdue is still in the race for 7-foot-0 center Chris Jackson from New Mexico. A recent
update on Pac-West finds him favoring Stanford, Utah and the Boilers. [Pac-West Hoops]
July 12, 2000
You asked for it, you got it. Player profile pages are returning. The first is for California
center Isaiah Fox. UCLA has a logjam of center recruits, but he is currently favoring them
along with Arizona and other majors. [Isaiah Fox]
July 11, 2000
Indianapolis was the showcase for two events the opening weekend of the summer evaluation
period. While one Purdue coach flew east, two stayed close to home to see, and be seen by,
a few of the program's top recruiting targets. [MrHoops Story]
July 9, 2000
I have set up two pages to help track updates from the Nike and ABCD Camps this weekend. I
will be updating the forum through the weekend, then adding stories to the recruiting page
when I get back. [Nike Camp Updates][ABCD Camp Updates]
July 8, 2000
6-foot-5 center Sarah Kwasinski from Chicago Fenwick has given a verbal commitment to
Northwestern.
July 5, 2000
With the Purdue coaches out on the road this summer, two positions are in the most need...small
forward and center. [Journal and Courier]
New Mexico 2001 center Chris Jackson was spotted attending Rick Barnes' "elite" camp
at the University of Texas.
We have just been forwarded the schedule for this year's Nike Camp. We will again be at
Nike this year and will print some of our observations this weekend. [Nike Schedule]
July 4, 2000
Tobie Smith, who ran the old independent Michigan recruiting site, talked recently to
both Jason Maxiell and JaQuan Hart. Tobie has heard both Purdue and Michigan called on
Maxiell, but Maxiell told Tobie on Monday that only a handful of schools had made calls
to him, in particular "Cincinnati, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, South Florida, and that's
about it." Maxiell went on to deny talking to Michigan. Another rumor was cleared up
yesterday involving JaQuan Hart. Hart's AAU coach was said to have placed Ohio State
as Hart's favorite at the moment. But in an interview with Tobie, Hart said it was untrue.
He also said if he had a favorite right now it would be Purdue. That puts Purdue at the
top of the list, at least for the moment, for two strong wing scorers, Hart and Darmetreis
Kilgore. Kilgore has been offered a scholarship. [The Wolverine]
July 3, 2000
The scholarship page has been updated to add the incoming recruits as freshmen and the recent
addition of Brandon McKnight. Speaking of scholarships, Louisville transfer Travis Best has been
extended a scholarship for the 2000-01 season. His younger brother and Purdue prospect
Tyler Best, a 6-foot-8 forward in the class of 2002, was also offered a scholarship in
mid-May. [Scholarships]
Two new shots of class of 2001 recruit Brandon McKnight have been added. [Photos]
The scholarship page has been updated to add the incoming recruits as freshmen. [Scholarships]
A new shot of class of 2001 prospect Jacqueline Batteast has been added. [Photos]
July 2, 2000
Women's Basketball Journal has evaluated the top recruiting classes for the 2000-2001 season,
and has named Kristy Curry and Purdue as having the top class in the nation. Purdue was voted
ahead of second place UCONN, followed by Duke, Louisiana Tech and Rutgers. [WBJ]
The No.6 player in the nation has bailed out of the recruiting race and verballed to
Duke. Six-foot-three forward Wynter Whitley from Newton County (GA) chose the Blue Devils
out of a final four that also included Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina. Purdue
started to not be mentioned on her list about two months ago, and it is no secret Purdue's
priority continues to be Indianapolis' Shyra Ely. [WBJ]
Purdue received an unofficial visit from Michigan swing man JaQuan Hart this past week,
where he got a chance to meet with the coaches and tour the facilities. A brief scouting
report from FoxSports on Hart says the buzz is not all hype: "The hype was
accurate; this guy can play. He's a very good athlete and has plenty of aggression; he
went right at [7-foot center Tyson] Chandler. He can shoot the trey and is a strong
finisher. No question he'll play somewhere in the Big Ten as he's capable of playing
multiple positions." And he will likely stay in the Big Ten, choosing among
leaders Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State.
Purdue put in a call last week to the home of 6-foot-8 rising senior big forward Jason
Maxiell of Carrollton, TX. We had a chance to see Maxiell a couple of times at Spiece,
where it is obvious he is an athlete. At about 215 pounds, this kid can really move around the
basket. His defense is a little stronger than his offense right now, and he thrives in the open
court. Definitely a player who looks to be able to become a major player once his shooting
develops. Beginning on June 21st, coaches could call a prospective student-athlete once during
the final nine days of June. Now that July has started, coaches are allowed to call a prospect
up to three times during the month, but no more than once in one week.
To see the January - June 2000 stories go here -->
As news organizations move their stories to an archive, some of the links listed above may become inactive
OldGoldFreePress.com is organized & maintained by a group of college sports reporters with the help of Purdue sports fans everywhere. OldGoldFreePress.com is an independent and unofficial Purdue (+ Big Ten Conference/NCAA) sports news site that is not affiliated with Purdue University, the Big Ten Conference, the NCAA and/or any university athletic program.
DECEMBER 31, 2000![[BACK IN TIME]](../../../hoopsrecruiting/icons/go.gif){kind=icon}
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