Our four-part series on the Nike All-American Camp is now complete with Part IV now up. Our
all-camp nominations are toward the end. Thanks to everyone at Nike for their hospitality
this year.
Taylor Bell (I thought he retired?) of the Sun Times talks about the Illinois class of 2004,
including some talk about Shaun Livingston, a player the Purdue coaches watched quite a bit
of this summer. Purdue will have up to six scholarships available for the class of 2004,
two already promised to Desmond Gadis and Robert Vaden. The article has a short shelf life.
Part III of our now FOUR-part series on the Nike All-American Camp players is now up. Coming
up on Monday in Part IV will be the final scouting reports and our all-camp nominations.
Some more information from the Adidas Big Time tournament. Robert Vaden was named to the
all-tournament team, along with fellow Indiana natives Matt Webster and Peyton Stovall.
The New York Ravens went undefeated in the tournament to take the Open Division championship.
The Ravens beat their opponents by an average of 17 points per game. However, in their first
game of bracket play, one team came within one point of knocking them off. That team was
Dave Gadis' Spiece Top Prospects squad.
BIG TEN UPDATE: Michigan State has received a verbal from Shannon Brown, a 6'2 slashing guard
and my top pick for the best guard at Nike this year. Brown was thought to be heading to
Illinois to join high school teammate Dee Brown, but the Illini ran out of scholarships.
AUGUST 2, 2002
Part II of our four-part series on the Nike All-American Camp players is now up. Generally,
the Nike player numbering system is designed so that the guards are lower numbered, and as
jersey numbers increase you move to forwards and finally post players. In Part II we start
seeing forwards and a few post players popping up.
Purdue, Texas and Tennessee are being considered for the remaining two official visits Brittany
Hunter plans to take this fall. She has already scheduled visits with Louisiana State,
Connecticut and Duke. According to this article covering Florida, Hunter is more concerned with
finding a strong broadcasting academic program than planning for a future athletic career in
professional basketball.
At the recently completed Adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, Robert Vaden finished with
the tournament's ninth-highest per-game scoring average, 25.75. Not bad, considering there
were 344 teams playing in the tournament.
JULY 30, 2002
The scouting reports from the 2002 Nike Camp are nearing completion. Ready now is Part I of
what will be a four-part series of scouting reports, including photos.
Denise McClanahan's Indiana's Finest Black Cats 17-under team has won the national championship
at AAU Nationals in Auburn Hills, MI. Indiana's Finest defeated West Texas Hawks 71-62 in the
first game at noon to take the title. Katie Gearlds was named the 2002 AAU Nationals Tournament
MVP, and was joined on the All-American roster by fellow Purdue recruit Sharika Webb. Gearlds
scored 24 points in the final game, followed by Webb's 19. The following is the 16-member
All-American team...
Brooke Baughman - West Texas Hawks
Latarsha Crain - Arkansas Mavericks
Brittany Frazier - Tennessee Elite
Kathryn Gearlds - Indiana Finest (MVP)
Katie Gross - Austin Lady Knights
Jenna Leet - St. Louis Crusaders
Tabitha Nicholson - Tennessee Sparks 2
Nicole Piggott - Michigan Lakers
Liz Podomonick - North Tartan
Alesha Robertson - West Texas Hawks
Rebecca Rowsey - Tennessee Elite
Shannon Schonrock - North Tartan
Carrie Smith - Indiana Finest
Angie Soriaga - Houston Hotshots
Sharika Webb - Indiana Finest
Chelsi Welch - West Texas Hawks
A couple of targets who had shown interest in Purdue have made decisions. Michigan State has
received a verbal commitment from 6'10 center Drew Naymick, while Xavier gets their second
verbal from the Indiana class of 2003 with 6'5 forward Justin Cage.
JULY 20, 2002
Indiana's Finest 17-under team has two shots at the national championship today. Since they
are the only remaining undefeated team in the double-elimination tournament, they will play
for the national championship today at noon against the winner of the loser's bracket, West
Texas Hawks. A loss at noon will set up a rematch at 4:00pm with the Hawks. The Hawks were
sent to the losers bracket by North Tartan on Wednesday, as North Tartan rolled to a 95-76
victory. The Finest 17s sent North Tartan to the losers bracket on Friday, 65-64. Waiting
for North Tartan in the finals of the losers bracket Friday night was the Hawks, who came
back to beat North Tartan, 83-72.
JULY 18, 2002
The Final Four is set for the 17-under AAU Nationals, and Indiana's Finest AAU is still alive.
The Finest defeated the Alabama Roadrunners Tuesday evening, 76-67. They followed it up with
a decisive 83-59 win over Massachusetts Comets Wednesday afternoon. The team now faces the
Houston Hotshots on Thursday at 5:00pm for a shot at the title. In the other bracket, North
Tartan takes on Tennessee Elite. For info on two of the other teams still alive, visit the
links below. North Tartan might ring a bell, as they boast three Division I players, two of
which were looked at closely by Purdue -- Liz Podominick and Megan Ronhovde. The tournament
is actually double-elimination, so to win it all three more wins are needed.
It may take us a few days to compile our Nike Camp coverage, but we will have it out soon. We
sent three people this year, plus have pictures of almost every player in attendance. We
also have some scouting from the Blue Star Elite Camp which just ended at Perry Meridian High
School in Indianapolis. The camp runs through Friday, then begins the process of transcribing
our scouting notes.
JULY 17, 2002
Purdue's 2002-03 recruiting class is ranked No.8 by All Star Girls Report.
The Hoosier Hoops AAU team, featuring Purdue 2005 targets Josh McRoberts and Jordan Brewer, made
it to the Final Four at AAU Nationals this past week in Knoxville. Playing without McRoberts,
Hoosier Hoops lost to eventual champion SW Dallas Mustangs 67-61 in the semifinal game.
Indiana's Finest AAU is following up an undefeated run in the AAU state tournament with an
undefeated run so far in pool play at Nationals, held this week in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
The Finest opened up pool play on Saturday with a 70-55 win over the Austin Lady Knights and
a 68-35 win over the Michigan Shock. Sunday brought them up against DBL Phoenix, a team they
beat 86-64. As a top seed in the tournament, they will face the 3rd place team in pool C,
Fredrick Madness (MD) at 1:00pm on Monday.
JULY 13, 2002
The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel has an article on the recruitment of Elmhurst junior-to-be
James Hardy, a 6'5 wing. Purdue, Iowa and Indiana have all offered scholarships, with Michigan
State, Notre Dame and Illinois also showing interest. Purdue was the first to recruit Hardy.
DG10 has a scouting report of Ije Nwankwo from Tuesday at Nike..."Ije had a very good game
last night and was one of the standouts on the floor in his game. For the first time in the
three games that I had watched him, he put the ball on the floor from the wing or high post
and drove to the basket, and he was very impressive in doing so. Three straight times he put
the ball on the floor and went hard to the basket, and all three times he finished strong
amongst a throng of defenders. He continued to rebound well also, and really just had a good
night. While only 6'6", he has a wingspan of nearly 7'6"...so he is long. While not as good
on the offense end and a bit bigger, he reminds me a little bit of Reggie Evans."
Hoop Scoop has their final rankings out for the Nike Camp players. Purdue recruit Ije Nwankwo
comes in as the 19th-best player overall and the 5th-best power forward at the camp.
BIG TEN UPDATE: The University of Illinois has received a verbal from 2003 Brian Randle,
a 6'8 small forward who most of the week talked about wanting to take official visits in the
fall. That idea didn't last long. Of interest to Purdue fans is the Illini's scholarship
situation. With Randle's commitment, which fills all the available scholarships for the
class of 2003, Illinois will not be able to carry and extra over to the class of 2004. The
Illini will only have one graduating senior to free up one scholarship for the class of 2004.
Since 2004 is very deep, and locally talented throughout the midwest including Illinois, Purdue
looks good having a handful of scholarships to offer. Three top players who have mentioned
Purdue and Illinois in the class of 2004 are point guard Shaun Livingston, power forward Kalen
Grimes, and shooter'slasher JaMarcus Ellis.
JULY 8, 2002
I have posted the Nike Camp Day One and Day Two reports. Day Two includes Sunday scouting
of Ije Nwankwo.
Mark Mayemura, a scout for Recruiting USA, has his pre-summer rankings up for the class of
2003. Coming in at No. 87 is Boilermaker commitment Ije Nwankwo. Our other 2003 verbal,
Adam Liddell, is not listed among the top 100 players.
Some tidbits of recruiting interest in today's Journal and Courier. There have been four
questionmarks on the minds of most Purdue fans concerning post play for the upcoming season.
Jeff Washburn clears up all four in one article. First, Kevin Garrity who has been
sidelined with a broken bone in his foot, should be ready by the end of July. Second,
Ivan Kartelo, who has been academically ineligible since the second semester, is expected
to correct his academic problems by the end of the summer session. Third, missing in action
forward Ramon Diaz is not on campus, but Keady still thinks he will be a part of the team
next season. And lastly, where's Chris Booker? Booker arrived on campus Monday, and
scrimmaged with the team that afternoon.
Forum contributor Waggs06 has been posting some brief scouting reports from player scrimmages
in Mackey this summer. The latest talks about Booker's arrival, mixed with a little praise
for Matt Kiefer. Waggs06 has accepted a columnist spot here on the site and will be providing
a view from campus. Looks for his updates on the forum until his reports can be archived
elsewhere on the site.
Monty St. Clair was one of the players at the Spiece tournament in May I really enjoyed
watching play. I received a nice note from his father who said he enjoys our site. Seems
as though the family grew up in Logansport, and Monty was actually born in Lafayette.
Mom is a Purdue alum. Purdue has been sending him mail since last summer, and Jay Price
visited his high school this past spring. Ergo, the interest from Purdue, which sometimes
you never know the degree of reverse interest when a player starts listing your school.
Monty wants to play in the Big Ten, and I personally think he will make an excellent Big
Ten player. His only offers right now are from Miami of Ohio, Ohio, Tulane and Western
Kentucky, but he has started receiving letters from Big Ten programs. Michigan State is
the most serious, and speculation is they are waiting for Drew Naymick to make a
decision. So far in this early part of the contact period, the family has received calls
from Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Penn State. A very solid student
with a 27 ACT and a 1210 SAT. Too bad the staff is out of scholarships for the class of
2003!
JUNE 25, 2002
Another post player has popped onto the Purdue radar. Melissa Washington, a 6'5 center from
Largo HS, MD, is considering Purdue along with Michigan and Duke. Washington averaged 11.6
points and 11 rebounds as a junior, hitting for a season-high 19 points against Oxon Hill HS
on January 15th. She made one three-point shot this season, and shoots 52-percent (35 of 67)
from the freethrow line. Largo finished 13-10 on the season, while Washington was named to the
Prince George 4A All-League first team. Washington has been invited to the Adidas Top10 Camp
in July.
Purdue is high on the list with class of 2005 power forward Cyrus Tate from Homewood-Flossmoor
HS, IL. Tate is an energetic, but thin post player in high school who looks to be a small
forward prospect in college. A good defender and hard worker. Tate stuck out at times at
Purdue's recently completed Elite Camp. People took notice last fall when as a sophomore,
Tate took on 6'9 senior Charles Bass who has signed with Ohio State. Tate drew the defensive
assignment in the second half, and held Bass to four points in the third quarter and four
points in the fourth quarter. Bass is accustomed to getting double and triple-teamed in the
post, but Tate holding him solo to 4-of-11 shooting down the stretch opened some eyes.
JUNE 23, 2002
The Indiana All-Stars swept the 2002 version of the interstate battle with a 98-76 victory in
Conseco. The All-Stars led for most of the game, and were rarely threatened on the home court.
Matt Kiefer's only point came at the freethrow line and struggled with turnovers in his 13
minutes on the floor. Matt also had four rebounds and an assist.
BIG TEN UPDATE: The University of Illinois has received a verbal commitment from class of 2003
forward Erin Wigley of Moon High, IL. The 6'1 forward led her team to a WPIAL Class AAA title,
averaging 16.7 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Special thanks to Nick for grabbing a list of this year's Elite Camp participants. Where
possible, we have added some class and school information for a few of the players. If you
can help fill in some of the info, drop us an email.
From the "in case you missed it" file, Kristy Curry gave a clue where the recruiting
priorities are for the rest of the class filled around class of 2003 guard Katie Gearlds.
"We're going to sign nothing but posts at (power forward and center). We'll take the first
three that want to come to Purdue." Also in the article, a recent NCAA rule change will
allow third assistant Kelly Curry to recruit off-campus.
Katie Gearlds and the North squad at the 2002 USA Women's Youth Development Festival have
gone undefeated and won the championship. Over the five-game series, Katie led her team
in minutes per game with 24.6. Katie also finished first in freethrow percentage (.875)
and assists-to-turnovers (1.7-to-1); second in three-point percentage (.357), total
assists (10) and steals (10); third in rebounds per game (4.0); fourth in scoring (10.0);
sixth in field goal percentage (.413); and ninth out of 12 players in total turnovers (6).
Defensively, the North held their opponents to 76.4 points per game and 35-percent shooting
from the floor. Below are links to photos, game reviews and box scores from USA Basketball.
Some interesting comments in an interview with Katie Gearlds at the USA Women's Youth
Development Festival. When asked if Katie is trying to sway some of her teammates to come to
Purdue, she replied, "There are four or five girls on the North squad that I know Purdue
is pretty hard after. I'm just trying to throw them some good comments about Purdue here
and there. You know, ‘I'll pass you the ball at Purdue too!' Just see if they like playing
with me." And, when asked if she is happy her college choice is out of the way, she said,
"Yes. I really wanted to get it out of the way and I knew that Purdue is where I really
wanted to go. The coaching staff there is like no other coaching staff that I talked to.
I mean, no disrespect to any other school, but the Purdue coaches were awesome. Plus, it
is close to home and I just think it is perfect for me." The rest of the interview can be
seen at the following link...
The Indiana All-Star team was 8.6 second away from winning their first game this year against
their Kentucky counterparts. Local Lafayette favorite Candace Dark, who is headed to Ohio State,
hit the game-tying basket with 8.6 left, only to see Kentucky run the length of the floor and
hit the game winner. Carol Duncan, who was scheduled to hold down the post for the senior team,
sat on the bench with a stress fracture suffered in Wednesday's scrimmage against the Junior
All-Star team. Brianna Howard finished with seven points, and Sharika Webb added five. Howard
was 3-of-8 from the floor and 1-of-3 from the perimeter. Webb got three of her five points
from the freethrow line, and was a cold 1-of-7 from the floor.
Matt Kiefer is already hitting the books in anticipation of joining the Boilers at the end
of June. He was honored as a co-valedictorian at Mater Dei, showing excellence in the
classroom as well as on the court. Indiana All-Star assistant coach Pat Skaggs hopes the 6'10
forward causes trouble for his Kentucky opponents. "He's impressed me with his skills,"
Skaggs said. "He's an excellent shooter and he can shoot the 3. He has several skills and
dimensions to his game that could make him a hard matchup for people."
Adam Liddell seems to know what butters his bread, and defense and rebounding will do just
that. Some comment from the verballed 6'7 forward in this article, including his appreciation
of Brian Cardinal's Big Ten game. Seth Colclasure, who is headed to Valparaiso, also has some
good words for Liddell's value to the all-star team.
We have prepared short player profiles for each member of the 2002 Junior All-Star team.
Coming tomorrow, profiles of the Senior All-Stars. As a reminder, Katie Gearlds is not
scheduled to appear due to commitments with the USA Women's Youth Development Festival.
Speaking of the all-stars, Purdue's Mackey Arena will host the first of two scrimmages
between the junior and senior teams this Wednesday, June 12th. The girls game tips-off
at 6:00pm, followed by the boys game. Tickets are $6 and are available at the gate.
We have chosen Section 10, Row 8 of Mackey as a place to meet, so drop by and say hello
to some of the other site visitors!
JUNE 7, 2002
In a blurb buried in the Chicago Sun Times on May 31, Taylor Bell caught Cuonzo
Martin talking about the changing face of recruiting..."When I was recruited, the college
coach only had to sell me and my mom. The coaches were concerned, too. They wanted me to go
to the best school. Now a college recruiter not only has to go through a kid and his parent
and his coach, but also several other people ... AAU coach, street agent, relatives, friends
who have their hands out. If you try to do things right, you miss out on a lot of kids. Kids
and parents don't have an opportunity to make their own decisions. Outside influences have
kids thinking wrong things. Will I get a degree? Will I have an opportunity to play? That
was all I was concerned about. Now kids ask if they can start as freshmen. And some schools
guarantee it."
To the disappointment of many local Lafayette Purdue fans, Katie Gearlds will not be taking
part in the junior all-star scrimmage in Mackey Arena next Wednesday, June 12th. Instead,
Katie will be showcasing her skills on the national level as she takes part in the 2002
USA Women's Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs. The festival starts June 13th.
Forty-eight of the nation's top high school players have been chosen to play on one of four
teams that will play each other in a five-game tournament. We've mentioned before that
Katie's early commitment has placed her in a good position to bring other players onboard.
The festival has made that much easier, as a handful of known Purdue targets will be on
her team during the festival. Katie's team, the North squad, includes 6'6 center Alison
Bales of Beavercreek (OH), 5'6 guard Deonna Davis of Cincinnati (OH), 5'10 guard Brandie
Hoskins of Chaminade-Julienne (OH), 6'3 forward Brittany Hunter of Columbus Brookhaven (OH),
5'8 guard Britney Jordan of Peoria Woodruff (IL), 6'3 center Chloe Kerr of Bolingbrook (IL),
6'2 forward Erin Lawless of Chicago Fenwick (IL), 5'11 forward Victoria Lucas-Perry of
Powers Catholic (MI), 6'3 forward Elise Morrison of Country Day (MI), 5'9 guard Kelly
Roysland of Fossum (MN), and 6'2 center Siedah Williams of Cleveland Regina (OH). Many of
those names we've heard mentioned here before, and Katie will be able to provide some
scouting to the Purdue coaches on some of the girls under consideration. We'll be posting
updates on Katie's progress as the festival gets underway next week.
JUNE 6, 2002
At Southwestern High's 2002 Senior Honors Day, the name of Brianna Howard was a popular one.
Here is a listing of the awards presented to her...Community Foundation of Madison and
Jefferson County Scholarship, GPA Honor (3.0 to 3.99), Senior Scholastic Award for basketball
program, Col. Rich Higgins Memorial Leadership Award, Distinguished Athlete Award, National
Honor Society cords for eight semesters of 3.50 grade point average, and an academic honors
diploma. This is on top of her Eli Lilly Scholarship and the state mental attitude award
given to her at the IHSAA state tournament. Congratulations Brianna!
JUNE 3, 2002
The player profile for incoming freshman Brianna Howard has been completed.
Purdue is on the list for Siedah Williams, a 6'2 junior forward from South Euclid Regina HS
(OH). According to previous articles, UCONN has been said to be a leader, but Purdue,
Tennessee Virginia and Florida are also in the mix. Williams was a second team all-state
pick in Ohio last season after averaging 16.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game.
All Star Girls Report lists her at No. 79. Regina won their third straight Ohio Division III
championship in May with a 62-54 win over Archbold. Regina became only the second team in
Ohio to accomplish three consecutive championships. Williams was named to the all-tournament
team after scoring a total of 27 points and 23 rebounds during the semifinal and final games.
The page containing the list of known Purdue targets has been updated, adding Williams along
with a couple new 2003 names, plus we have started to list player in the class of 2005.
An article in the Journal and Courier on the commitment of Ije Nwankwo to Purdue. One
note about the article. Even though it states Nwankwo was in foul trouble "several
times", it needs to be pointed out that he fouled out of only one game all season, and
that was the final game of the season.
A scouting report by DG10 on the Spiece Top Prospects team from this past weekend at the
Spiece Memorial Day tournament..."Spiece Prospects won the AAU tournament this past
weekend in Ft. Wayne, and were very impressive in their performance. The tournament
included many of the same teams that had played in the Run N' Slam Tournament a few
weeks ago, so it was a welcome opportunity to redeem themselves a bit. While the
achievement of winning the tournament is impressive, it is more impressive in that
starting center Lowell Livingston did not play this past weekend. Courtney Lee was back
for the first time, and the combined absence of Livingston and Lee's return lead to a
complete line-up change. Gadis was shifted to the two, Courtney played the three,
Robert was shifted to the four, and McCoy moved to the five-spot. While the team was
a bit smaller, it was far quicker and more athletic, and was much better defensively
from a pressure standpoint. Desmond averaged 16 for the tournament, and Robert
averaged 23. Desmond and Mike McCoy made the all-tournament team, and Robert was
named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. They play again this weekend in Ft. Wayne,
and then they will be off for the month of June, before resuming AAU tournament play
in July. Purdue had nominated Desmond for the Nike Elite Underclassmen Camp and Robert
for the Nike All-American Camp, and the boys are waiting to see if they will receive
invitations."
Some nice words from analyst Clark Francis on Purdue's newest commitment, Ije Nwankwo...
"The player we were most impressed with this weekend from the state of Michigan was 6'7
junior Ije Nwankwo from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, who currently is ranked
#191 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP. However, Nwankwo will be listed among our top 100
when update our national rankings again in mid-June. We're talking about a more athletic
version of 6'8 Mario Boggan from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA."
MAY 30, 2002
The staff has filled the remaining scholarship for the class of 2003 by getting a verbal
commitment from 6'7 Ije Nwankwo of Birmingham (Detroit) Country Day (MI). If the team remains
the same as it is now, Keady is finished recruiting with the class of 2003. The advantage to
being done so early is the staff can now focus on the class of 2004, a class they will have
six scholarships available to offer. Two are already set aside for shooting guard Robert
Vaden and point guard Desmond Gadis. The scholarship grid has been updated to reflect
Nwankwo's commitment.
The Wagon Online Virginia site has some scouting reports up from last weekend's
Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. Posted are reports of a handful of players who are,
or have mentioned Purdue on their lists in the past including 6'10 Hassan Fofana,
6'8 Brent Petway, 6'8 Brian Randle and 7'0 Brian Butch.
Word out of Bloomington and this weekend's Nike Memorial Day Classic is that Keady extended
a scholarship offer to 6'7 Ije Nwankwo of Birmingham Country Day (MI) on Friday. Nwankwo, a
power forward who can post up, was rated most recently by Hoop Scoop at No. 142, but his
stock has been rising as he replaces his "undersized" label with some strong play on the
floor. And talk about cross-training. At a solid 265 pounds last summer, Nwankwo ran cross
country in the fall and dropped 25 pounds. It now looks like he might be back up to around
255. He was a third team all-state selection last year, averaging 16.8 points, 12.5 rebounds
and 5.3 blocks. Nwankwo is also nearly a year younger than his classmates. Purdue looks to
be the first major Big Ten program to offer, while Michigan and Michigan State are still
evaluating.
BIG TEN UPDATE: Former Minnesota Mr. Basketball Adam Boone, after announcing this spring he
would transfer from North Carolina, has decided to go home and play for Minnesota. Boone,
a 6'2 point guard, averaged 7.2 points and 3.2 assists for North Carolina as a sophomore
last season. He will have two years of eligibility remaining, beginning with the 2003-04
season.
MAY 27, 2002
Yes we are still among the living! After spending considerable time trying to get together
the Spiece tournament recaps, working on a site redesign which will be coming late this summer,
and taking some much needed time off after the Spiece tournament, recruiting updates will begin
again on a more regular basis. I will attempt to add some of the big news over the past few
weeks, dated around the time it happened, to keep things in a chronological order. These
updates will be filtering in over the next few days. In the meantime, I will have to shut
off the Spiece tournament updates, but have managed to get complete Friday coverage up and
a group of general scouting reports up for some players that impressed me over the weekend.
There is still a play-by-play for the Spiece Central / Fox Valley game I'd like to get up,
and will try to fit it in over the next week or so.
With 95-percent of the top player in the class of 2002 signed to programs, Bill Hodge has
Purdue's incoming recruiting class ranked 21st. Other Big Ten schools were ranked as such --
Illinois (No. 5), Michigan State (No. 6), Michigan (No. 10), Iowa (No. 19), and Indiana
(No. 20).
It doesn't appear likely Shane Power will end up in a Purdue uniform following his transfer
from Iowa State. Despite the looming fact Purdue doesn't have a scholarship to offer and
has had tuition raises of 25% and 10% just in the past year making walking on an
increasingly expensive undertaking, Power does not need to consider a walk on position as
his talent is in demand. Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, New Mexico, Notre Dame
and Wisconsin are the schools being mentioned the most lately, with Power making visits to
the first four names on that list since announcing his transfer.
BIG TEN UPDATE: The University of Illinois has received a verbal from 2003 6'9 forward
Warren Carter of Dallas (TX). The Illini beat out Texas schools like Baylor, SMU, A&M and
Texas, while Carter was also getting attention from Iowa.
MAY 19, 2002
An article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune has 6'2 post Liz Podominick wondering if Minnesota
is still an option after no movement by the university in hiring a new women's basketball
coach. "It's chaos over there, and it's frustrating," said Podominick. "They're going lower
and lower on my list every day."
Purdue is targetting Illinois junior Chloe Kerr, a 6'3 center from Bolingbrook. Kerr is rated
No. 51 by AGSR, and is also considering Stanford, Vandy, Iowa, Michigan, Arizona, Duke and
Illinois. Kerr averaged team-highs of 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds as a junior during the
season, then expanded her averaged to close to 16 points per game through the postseason. She
scored a season high 25 points during a regional championship game against Minooka, and also
averaged 4.0 blocks per game. Bolingbrook finished the season with a 26-4 record.
MAY 9, 2002
Coach Curry was quoted in the Journal and Courier saying junior Mandy Davis is no longer with
the program. Davis was forced to sit out the second semester for academic issues. While the
loss of Davis does free up a scholarship for the 2002-03 season, Curry already has an overly
large class coming in, making it doubtful that the Davis scholarship could be used any sooner
than what it normally would have been available.
MAY 6, 2002
BIG TEN UPDATE: Ron Coleman, a 6'6 sophomore (2004) from Romulus HS (MI) has given an early
verbal commitment to the University of Michigan. Coleman was getting early interest from
Purdue and Michigan State as well. Coleman averaged 17.1 points, 10 rebounds and three assists
as a sophomore.
MAY 3, 2002
BIG TEN UPDATE: Michigan has received a verbal from 6'3 junior (2003) wing Dion Harris of
Detroit Redford. Harris was an all-state first team member after averaging 22 points per game
last season. Harris chose Michigan over Michigan State, Louisville and Missouri.
MAY 2, 2002
Matt Kiefer scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds at the Hoosier Basketball Coaches
Association All-Star Classic in Paoli, helping his District 2 squad to a 109-108 overtime
victory. Their opponent, the District 4 All-Stars, was led by Paoli's Evan Seacat with
33 points. Kiefer was named the game MVP.
MAY 1, 2002
Junior Megan Ronhovde, a 6'1 forward from West Central Area HS (MN), has chosen Iowa State.
Ronhovde and teammate Liz Podominick reportedly were both offered scholarships by the Purdue
staff after a tournament last month.
Some interesting new news on the Shane Power situation. There had been some talk about Duke
maybe being a school he might consider, due to a girlfriend being there. Well, that girlfriend
is West Lafayette's own Lello Gebisa, who has since transferred to Wisconsin. So is Wisconsin
now a possibility in the Power transfer?
A couple of AAU scouting reports from DG10 are a part of the two newest Old Gold Free
Press updates. In the 4/30 report, Robert Vaden finished with 34 points on 12-19
shooting from the field, including 9-14 from three-point range in a semifinal loss during
the recently completed Who's Next tournament. DG10 tells us Gadis also had an excellent
showing. In the 4/26 update, Justin Cage seemed to have something to prove against Purdue
verbal Adam Liddell. With only two scholarships to offer the 2003 class and Liddell getting
the one for a small forward, it is doubtful players such as Cage and Parnell Smith are
still on the recruiting board for Keady.
For those of you who have not heard of the Old Gold Free Press project, it is a joint venture
between MrHoops, MrGridiron, Boilermaker Basketball Recruiting, Purdue Sports Update, and
a mix of writers interested in contributing to a new Purdue media site. More details will come
this summer.
A player Purdue has stayed in touch with in case a scholarship opened up, 6'6 forward Rodney
Carney of Indianapolis Northwest, has signed with Memphis.
The 2002 Spiece Run 'N Slam page is now up, and is linked from above. Pools and schedules
have been posted. We will be scouting the entire tournament again this year, posting our
observations to the forum over the weekend, then adding more detail next week when we get
back. For those of you attending the tournament that would like to write scouting reports
or game summaries, drop me an email.
Although still wide open and not wanting to cut down his list anytime soon, Purdue seems to
be one of the players involved with 6'9 junior center Hassan Fofana. The 250-pounder, down
from close to 300 pounds a year ago, is getting major attention due to him ability to hold
position in the paint as score from inside out to mid-range. Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
Holy Cross, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Stanford, Providence, Boston College, Ohio
State and Purdue are all being mentioned, although rumors have Duke and North Carolina out
of the picture. Fofana averaged 15 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks, four assists and four
steals at Worchester Holy Name (MA) last year in his first real season of organized
basketball. Thought to be more of a half-court player, Fofana has a great body for the low
post yet still can get up and down the court well.
APRIL 27, 2002
Shane Power, who chose Iowa State over the Boilers a few years ago, has decided to transfer
from Iowa State. Power, a 6'5 210-pound forward, was the only player to start in all of Iowa
State's games during the 2001-02 season, averaging 13.6 points and 4.5 rebounds.
According to the Indy Star, Reicina Russell's move to Lawrence North has been finalized. Purdue
fans already hoping to attend next fall's 2002 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic will have
one less prospect to view. The matchup featuring Purdue verbal Katie Gearlds on Beech Grove and
Russell, then on Terre Haute South, was becoming a must-see game.
Indiana All-Star selection Brianna Howard will join the Boilers next season as a walkon. The
5'8 shooting guard was the leading scorer for the Class 2A state champs Southwestern High,
averaging 19.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.7 steals and 2.6 assists as a senior. Howard will be
on scholarship, but not an athletic scholarship. She has been awarded the Lilly Scholarship
for Academics, and will study pharmacy at Purdue. Howard and fellow Purdue recruit Sharika
Webb have been friends since they were 12 through AAU competition. Howard brings a solid
defensive game, a nose for the basket, and a game head coach Donna Cheatham says is still
developing.
Alison Bales of Beavercreek (OH) still has Purdue listed among her favorites, according to
her hometown newspaper. Her choice will likely come from a list including Connecticut, Duke,
Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Christian and
Vanderbilt. Bales was named third team all-american by Parade this past week.
The rumors of Reicina Russell's move to Indianapolis appear to be based in some fact. The
Indianapolis Star reports the Russell family has met with administrators of Lawrence
North high school about a possible transfer, but a school has not yet been chosen. The family
has chosen to move to Indianapolis to take care of Reicina's grandparents. Reicina's grandmother
recently suffered a stroke. Russell seems to be very close to her family, so it remains to be
seen if that will be a factor in her choice of colleges.
Purdue has extended scholarship offers to two Minnesota juniors, 6'2 post Liz Podominick of
Lakeville HS and 6'0 forward Megan Ronhovde of West Central Area HS.
The Indianapolis Star had an article on Perry Meridian junior Austin Montgomery. His father Ken
was an Indiana All-Star in 1977, and held the Marion County scoring record until it was broken
by Alan Henderson in 1991. Ken played collegiately at the University of Texas. Austin finished
his junior season averaging 20.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.4 steals.
Sharika Webb led all scorers with 20 points, as her South team fell to the North in the state of
Indiana's basketball version of a civil war. The North team defeated the South, 86-72, behind
Webb's 20 and future Purdue walk-on Brianna Howard's 16.
The chance to impress the organizers of the 2002 Indiana All-Star team have come and gone, and
Matt Kiefer now waits for word he made the cut. Being one of the top two or three players in
the state should ease his concerns, and two solid performances in pre-selection camps should
place him on the team. At the Top40 Workout last week, a camp featuring the top 50 (40
plus 10 alternates) seniors in the state, Kiefer shot 10-of-16 from the floor for 22 points.
He was one of seven players who hit for more than 20 points during the scrimmages. Opportunity
number two came at this weekend's Reebok North/South Indiana All-Star Classic. Kiefer had 15
points to help his South team defeat the North, 108-103. He hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor
and 3-of-4 shots from the line. Anthony Winchester led the South team with 19 points. Although
the official announcement has been delayed until April 17th, three players are now known to
be a part of the team -- Sean May (Bloomington North), Chris Hunter (Gary West) and Keith
Christmas (Gary West).
APRIL 14, 2002
In the Wendy's Classic game featuring all-star teams from New York and Illinois, the midwest
comes away with the bragging rights with a 96-93 victory. Melvin Buckley started for the
Illinois Stars, but was cold from the floor all evening. In 20 minutes of play, Buckley only
took one shot inside the arc. His other six shots came from the perimeter, where he hit a total
of one. Add two freethrows and you get his five points for the game. He also added one rebound,
one assist and one steal. Illinois was successful over New York by killing them on the boards.
The productive player on the floor? Marcus White, who was mentioning Purdue last May, had
10 points in 10 minutes of play. White is headed to DePaul. Notre Dame bound Ricky Cornett
had four points in 21 minutes, so cold shooting seemed to be going around.
BIG TEN UPDATE: Aaron Spears, a 6'9 240-pound center from Dunbar (IL), has committed to Illinois
after reconsidering an earlier commitment to Ohio State. Spears averaged 27 points and 15
rebounds. Ohio State turns around and grabs a rebounder from junior college in 6'6 235-pound
power forward Shun Jenkins. Jenkins averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds last season for
Itawamba Community College (MS).
Katie Gearlds, Purdue's first commitment from the class of 2003, has been named to the Parade
All-American third team.
APRIL 12, 2002
Purdue junior target Sylvester Mayes has completed a transfer to Wayne High in Fort Wayne. The
reason for the transfer was so he could get away from South Bend and the distractions that
exist there. Mayes is a part of the foster care program, and was matched up with a new family
in Fort Wayne. Schools mentioned in contact with Mayes include Purdue, Cincinnati, Indiana,
Michigan and Notre Dame. Mayes could be the top junior scoring guard in the state. I have
yet to see his equal in that class, but Sonny Troutman may be close. He was academically
ineligible at South Bend Clay after playing in 13 games this season, and Mayes hopes summer
school classes and the increased academic attention at Wayne will allow him to qualify for
college in another year.
Keady has received his first verbal commitment for the Class of 2003. Dekalb junior forward
Adam Liddell, who averaged 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 block shots this
season. Dekalb lost to eventual state champ Gary West in the Lafayette Semistate, finishing
with a season record of 23-2. We have an old scouting report we'll try to dig up and post
tomorrow.
Detroit junior point guard Brandon Cotton has verbally committed to Michigan State after
considering offers from Purdue, Duke, Kentucky, Detroit and Louisville.
Suntana Granderson will have a good opportunity to find out if she would like to have Katie
Gearlds and Sharika Webb as future college teammates. This summer she is scheduled to be added
to the 17U roster for Indiana's Finest AAU. Brebeuf junior forward Carrie Smith is also back
with the team.
APRIL 1, 2002
Chicago alumni have a chance to see Melvin Buckley in all-star competition in a couple of weeks.
Buckley has been named to the Illinois All-Star team that will play against the New York
All-Stars in the Wendy's Shootout on April 13. Also on the Illinois squad will be Andre
Iguodala (Lanphier), Jamaal Brown (Westinghouse), James Augustine (Lincoln-Way), Ricky Cornett
(Homewood Christian), Marcetteaus McGee (Farragut), Elliot Poole (Farragut), Aaron Spears
(Dunbar), Alando Tucker (Lockport), and Marcus White (Whitney Young). On the topic of Elliot
Poole, who we heard sporadic mention of Purdue on his list last year, he will be going to a
junior college next year for academic reasons. A name to keep in mind in two years.
MARCH 30, 2002
The Junior All-Star teams have been chosen, and Purdue fans should not only find the rosters
interesting, but will also find getting to the game much easier. That is if Mackey Arena is
close enough. Mackey will be the host for the first scrimmage, scheduled for June 12. Featured
in the game will be Parnell Smith, Sonny Troutman, Justin Cage, Austin Montgomery and Adam
Liddell, all currently considering Purdue. Troutman is considering Purdue, along with Iowa,
Louisville, Indiana and Michigan State.
Junior Katie Gearlds and senior Sharika Webb have both been named first team all-state by
the Associated Press. Carol Duncan was named to the third team. Two addition junior targets
made the first team -- Terre Haute South's Reicina Russell and South Bend Riley's Suntana
Granderson.
We mentioned on the forum earlier this week that Purdue was trying to land one of the Indiana
All-Star scrimmages, a doubleheader featuring both junior and senior boys and girls teams. It
has recently been confirmed that Mackey Arena will host the June 12 scrimmage. Admission will
be $6, and the event is open to the public. The girls scrimmage tipoff is at 6:00pm, to be
followed immediately by the boys scrimmage. The June 12 game will feature the "Core" and
"South" squads. A forum gathering will be organized as we get closer to the event. For more
information about the game and roster, see the links below.
An article in the Journal and Courier looks ahead to the incoming freshman class for
the 2002-2003 season, a class loaded with "depth and versatility" according to Coach Curry.
Some scholarships questions are also addressed. Sultra Harding appears to need both spring
and summer courses to be eligible to play for Purdue next season, and we have been led to
believe by sources that Purdue will take her if she qualifies. Curry has also stated Hannah
Anderson will get one of the unused scholarships next season. The article also states it
is unclear whether Mandy Davis, who sat the second half of this season due to academics, will
return.
The Journal and Courier's Jeff Washburn has written a column about the importance of recruiting
in giving Coach Keady a nice sendoff to his collegiate coaching career.
The Indianapolis Star talked to the Gadis family to get some detail on the transfer of Desmond
Gadis and Robert Vaden to Pike. Gadis and Vaden, who began classes at Pike on Wednesday, were
tranferred to public school for economic reasons, according the David Gadis. Gadis cited a
career change for his wife, and transportation issues. Neither Gadis, nor Vaden, seemed
particularly attached to Cathedral, with Vaden quoted as saying "I just didn't like being at
Cathedral."
Melvin Buckley has been named to the Coca-Cola 2001-02 all-area boys basketball team. Buckley
ended his final season averaging 13 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, 44-percent of his made
shots coming from the perimeter for a total of 59 made three-pointers. Buckley also hit
82-percent of his freethrows. He has been named all-state second team by the IBCA.
MARCH 20, 2002
With the rumored transfer of Robert Vaden and Desmond Gadis to Pike now becoming more than
just another rumor -- and we've heard a lot of false rumors about the two -- Pike high
becomes a very scary team. The team that will be playing in the state 4A championship game
this Saturday loses only 5-percent of the team's scoring to graduation, plus adds
32-percent of Cathedral's team scoring in Vaden and Gadis. Pike will also benefit next
year from a core of junior players who have played summer basketball on the same AAU team.
Both 6'6 200lb Michael McCoy and 6'4 175lb Courtney Lee played for Spiece Top Prospects
with Vaden and Gadis.
There will be yet another opportunity to see Purdue-bound Katie Gearlds and Terre Haute South
center Reicina Russell play on the same floor. Beech Grove and Terre Haute South will face
each other in the second game of the 2002 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic, to be held
on December 27th at the New Castle Fieldhouse. Game one (10:00am) is a rematch of the 2002
state 2A championship between Shenandoah and Southwestern. Game two (12:00pm) will match
Beech Grove and Terre Haute South in what will be a battle of Miss Basketball frontrunners.
The losers play later that day at 6:00pm, followed by the championship game at 8:00pm.
MARCH 19, 2002
Matt Denison from INHoops.com recently had a question and answer session with
Kristof Kendrick. Kendrick is mentioning interest in Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois,
Purdue, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Louisville, Syracuse and Iowa, but also mentions his favorite
college teams as Michigan State and Purdue.
The seeding has been completed and Wabash Valley College will face Moberly College in the first
game of the first round of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. The game tips off at
10:00am on Tuesday, March 19th. If victorious, Wabash will play the winner of the Seward Kansas
/ Northeastern Colorado matchup at 6:00pm on Wednesday. Wabash Valley was awarded a 6 seed
among the 16 teams in the tournament. The other game of interest features Purdue target
Janet Henry and her Iowa Western CC squad. Iowa Western was awarded a 12 seed and will face
Copiah-Lincoln at noon on Wednesday, March 20th. The games are scheduled to be broadcast over
the internet by KSAL radio out of Salina, Kansas. The link below will take you to the audio
page.
A sophomore target's season has come to an end. Narbonne (27-4), featuring 5'6 point guard
Camille LeNoir, was soundly defeated by the nation's No. 1 team, Lynwood, 52-33. No stats
on what Camille might have scored, but the top two Narbonne scorers were senior guard Amber
Fouse with eight points, and senior post Willnett Crockett with six. Narbonne beat Lynwood by
26 points in last year's Division I Regional final game. In this game, Narbonne was held to
just 8-of-48 shooting.
Katie Gearlds and Reicina Russell headline the selections to this year's Junior All-Star team,
who will face the Senior All-Stars in two scrimmages this summer.
The Hoosierland Report site has some scouting from the recently completed Top 40 Workout,
a camp used by the Indiana All-Star selection committee as a way to sort through the top senior
talent in the state. While Carol Duncan and Sharika Webb look to have improved their chances
of making the team, Ashley Mays may be on the bubble.
Thornwood was stopped by No. 2 Springfield Lanphier (31-1) in the Class AA quarterfinals,
66-50. Lanphier used a 1-2-2 full court press to force 20 turnovers and create 12 steals.
Melvin Buckley ends his high school career with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting and
three three-pointers. Thornwood finishes the season with a 27-5 record.
In the end, having only one player over 6-foot doomed the South Bend Metro Stars against the
Area Stars, 95-58. Especially when the Area Stars boasted 6'5 Kelly Boyd and 6'2 Purdue signee
Carol Duncan. Boyd and Duncan contributed 12 points and 11 points respectively.
The Sun-Times has a story that talks quite a bit about Melvin Buckley. While a popular
argument against AAU might be that it takes players away from their high school teams during the
summer, Buckley suggests the time he spent last summer playing AAU actually helped his high
school teammates enlarge their roles in his absence -- especially David Moss, and Indiana State
signee.
Two of Purdue's known juco targets are preparing for the NJCAA National Tournament, which begins
next Tuesday in Salina, KS. Sultra Harding and Wabash Valley (24-4) won the District P
championship over John Logan College, 73-65. Also still alive is Janet Henry's Iowa Western CC
squad (27-4), who polished off the District I championship with a 81-66 win over Lake Region
State CC. The NJCAA tournament will take the 16 district winners and seed them later today into
a double-elimination bracket. Games begin Tuesday, March 19, with the championship game on
Saturday, March 23. As soon as the seeding is announced, we will post the internet radio
schedule for the games of interest.
Alison Bales has been named first team Division I All-Ohio by the Associated Press. Alison
ended her junior season averaging 17.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.4 blocks and 3.5 assists,
while shooting 64-percent from the floor and 78-percent from the foul line. The state
Division I Player-of-the-Year award was shared by three sophomores, one a player seen in
Mackey Arena this season on an unofficial visit. Pickerington's 5'10 Marscilla Packer, who
visited for the Ohio State game this season, shared the top award with 6'0 Fairfield sophomore
Wanisha Smith and 5'9 Youngstown Boardman sophomore Amber Bland.
MARCH 13, 2002
Thornwood knocked off No. 1 Joliet, 46-45, on a tip-in at the buzzer from Melvin Buckley.
Buckley shared game-high honors with teammate David Moss. Both scored 12 points. Thornwood
moves on to play Springfield Lanphier (30-1) in the state tournament quarterfinals this
Friday in Peoria.
MARCH 13, 2002
Beavercreek's 6'6 junior center Alison Bales has been named first team Southwest All-District
by the Associated Press. Bales averaged 17.2 points as a junior. Bales came in second for
the District MVP award, which was won by 6'0 Fairfield sophomore Wanisha Smith.
MARCH 12, 2002
Chris Booker has been named to the All-Region XIV first team by league coaches.
MARCH 10, 2002
Katie Gearlds has been named the Indianapolis area Player of the Year by area coaches and
writers from the Indianapolis Star. Gearlds heads the Star Super Team, which also includes
Purdue signee Sharika Webb, and two targets we've talked a little about on this page before --
Brebeuf 6'1 junior Carrie Smith and Alexandria 5'11 freshman Jodi Howell. Gearlds averaged
26.5 points, 10 rebounds and 6.2 assists this season. Smith, a 6'1 power forward/center,
averaged 14.2 points and 7.2 boards for a 25-3 Brebeuf team. Howell finished her freshman
year as the No. 2 scorer (behind Gearlds) in the Indianapolis area with 25.9 points per game,
hitting 40-percent of her perimeter shots and an area leading 88-percent of her freethrows.
Ashley Mays has been named second team all-Marion County after a senior season where she
averaged 17.2 points per game.
MARCH 9, 2002
Melvin Buckley seems to have his best games when the defense isn't focusing on him as the #1
scoring threat. Buckley succeeded last season behind 6'10 Eddie Curry. This year, senior
David Moss seems to have received most of the attention, both from the media and from
opposing defenses. Thornridge had one major goal for their sectional final matchup against --
stop David Moss. They succeeded in limiting Moss to 14 points, but that allowed Buckley to
go for game-highs in scoring (17) and rebounds (6) for the second game in a row. Thornwood
advances to face Joliet on Tuesday at the United Center Supersectional.
MARCH 8, 2002
Melvin Buckley had game-highs in scoring and rebounding as Thornwood eliminated
Homewood-Flossmoor in sectional action to set up a game with rival Thornridge. Buckley scored
17 points and grabbed seven boards. Thornwood (26-4) has won nine games in a row.
No California state title this year for Sabrina Keys. Berkeley was knocked off by unranked St.
Ignatius, 52-49, in the quarterfinals of Northern California Division I girls tournament.
Sabrina, along with teammate Shaquita Brown, had 11 points each for Berkeley to lead the team.
A very slow start dug such a big hole -- down 16 points at the half -- Berkeley was unable to
recover. Berkeley finishes the season with a 22-9 record.
MARCH 7, 2002
For the third straight year, Sharika Webb has been named the Indianapolis Player of the Year.
Webb finished her senior season averaging 18.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 blocks
and 3.3 steals. She shot 146-of-336 (.435) from the field, 100-of-121 (.826) from the line,
and 46-126 (.365) from the perimeter. She finished her high school career by setting three
records -- career points (1,651), career steals (357) and career made three-pointers (167).
Cathedral's hope for 4A championship ended with a 49-47 loss to Perry Meridian during
regionals. Cathedral finished the season 21-3.
Suntana Granderson wrapped up her junior year with a state championship run and Player of the
Year honors from her hometown newspaper. The 5'10 junior guard averaged 20.9 points, shooting
51-percent from the field, 26-percent from the perimeter and 76-percent from the freethrow
line. She also added 7.9 rebounds for 24-4 Riley, who made their first ever state championship
game appearance in 2002. Granderson also was named all-conference first team. Among state
scorers, Granderson finished 26th with a 20.9 average.
Carol Duncan has been named to the Northern Lakes Conference first team, and also named all-area
by the South Bend Tribune.
POSTSEASON UPDATE...
Alison Bales (Beavercreek HS, OH) - Season over. Beavercreek took the District championship,
then fell in the semifinals of regional action to St. Ursula, 51-45. St. Ursula was bounced
in the regional semifinals last season by Beavercreek. Beavercreek advanced to the regional
with a 41-29 win over Mt. Notre Dame in the district last Saturday. Alison Bales had a
triple-double with 14 points, 19 rebounds and 11 blocked shots. Ranked No. 3 in the state,
Beavercreek finishes the season with a record of 21-4.
Crystal Norman and Suntana Granderson (South Bend Riley HS, IN) - Season over. South Bend
Riley went to their first ever state championship game, only to run into No. 3 Terre Haute South.
Riley lost the game, 63-42, behind Granderson's 19 and Norman's 19. The two players also had
seven boards each. Riley finishes the season with a 24-2 record.
Reicina Russell (Terre Haute South HS, IN) - Season over. Terre Haute South won the Class
4A state championship over South Bend Riley, 63-42. Using a combination of powerful post
play and tough perimeter defense, South won their first appearance in the big game. Reicina
Russell led all scorers with 31 points, adding 15 rebounds, seven blocks and two steals.
Russell also set three state final records during the game -- most points scored (31) points,
most field goals made (14), and most blocked shots (7).
Sabrina Keys (Berkeley HS, CA) - Next game: 3/6 vs. St. Ignatius (26-5) at the Northern
California Division I playoffs. Berkeley made it number seven, victorious in the North Coast Section Division I
championship basketball game against No.2 Pittsburg, 60-53. Playing on a sprained right
ankle, Keys went down in the second quarter with a severely sprained left ankle. She later
returned to score 13 points and foul out Pittsburg center Necolia Simmons. Berkeley advanced to
the NCS final game with a 59-46 win over San Leandro. Keys led all scorers with 15 points.
Next up for Berkeley is a trip the the CIF Northern California Championships. It takes three
wins to advance to the state championship game to be held on March 23. Sore ankles and all,
Berkeley will have to depend on Sabrina even more now that Berkeley's 6'3 center Devanei Hampton
is out due to a knee injury.
Sultra Harding (Wabash Valley JC, IL) - Next game: 3/8 vs. Olney (20-11) in the semifinals
of the Region 24 Tournament at John A. Logan College, Carterville IL (6:00pm). Wabash Valley is
the No. 1 team in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
MARCH 6, 2002
A player that attended Purdue's Elite Camp last summer, 6'0 sophomore point guard Jamar Butler,
has given an early verbal commitment to Cincinnati. While few would question the fact Butler is
among the best players in the country in his class, Purdue already has two guard commitments
for the Class of 2004 in Robert Vaden and Desmond Gadis.
The name of Muskegon, MI junior center Drew Naymick has been thrown around for a while, but a
recent update by Vince Baldwin at PrepSpotlite has him with a shortened list of Michigan,
Michigan State, Ohio State and maybe Western Michigan.
Purdue signee Chris Booker has been named to the Region XIV All-Region team by the conference
coaches. The Tyler season is now over as the team failed to make the cutoff for the Region XIV
Tournament. Stats through 28 games (Tyler has played 30) has Chris averaging 16.5 points per
game on 172-of-313 from the field (.549), 15-of-50 from the perimeter (.300) and 98-of-134 from
the line (.731). Chris also ranks third in the conference in rebounds, averaging 11.7 per game.
The Lincoln-Way basketball teams are probably feeling a little picked on at the moment.
Thornwood (24-4) picked them off one by one to take the regional title. Illinois recruit
and former Purdue prospect James Augustine was held to only eight points by a tough
Thornwood defensive effort in the 75-41 win. Melvin Buckley finished with 11 points, six
rebounds, three assists and two steals, contributing eight points in a key third quarter
13-3 run that put the game out of reach.
MARCH 5, 2002
Finally updated the Photos page, inserting many new photos we have taken over the past couple
of years of various prospects and players of interest.
Melvin Buckley has been named to the Illinois All-State third team by the Associated Press.
MARCH 1, 2002
The Purdue staff has shown some interest in 6'0 junior guard Tyler McIlwraith of Cincinnati
Seven Hills (OH). Purdue and UCONN are the two biggest names sending her mail among a list of
75 schools showing her attention. McIlwraith was a first team Cincinnati Enquirer All Star
and Divison IV Player of the Year as a sophomore averaging 19.7 points and 8.8 rebounds. She
passed the 1,000 point career scoring mark earlier in February, and is currently averaging
close to 20 points per game.
FEBRUARY 25, 2002
Sabrina Keys, Ashley Mays and Sharika Webb have February 27th marked on their calendars. That
is the date the McDonald's All-American selection committee will release the 24 names of the
participants in the inaugural McDonald's Girls All-American Game. The list will be broadcast
at 6:00pm EST on ESPN's SportsCenter program. The game itself will be played on April 4th
in Madison Square Garden as a doubleheader with the Boys All-American team.
POSTSEASON UPDATE...
Alison Bales (Beavercreek HS, OH) - Next game: 3/2 vs. Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame at the
University of Cincinnati's Shoemaker Center (1:45pm). Advancing to the the District final
game next weekend, Alison Bales hit for a game-high 26 points in a walk over Springfield
North, 56-31. Bales also hit a perimeter shot in the game. Beavercreek's next test features
Cincinnati's best scorer, 5'10 sophomore Mel Thomas, who averages over 26 points per game
and shoots 43-percent from the field and 89-percent from the line.
Crystal Norman and Suntana Granderson (South Bend Riley HS, IN) - Next game: 4A State
Championship game on 3/2 vs. Terre Haute South (24-2), 8:30pm in Conseco Fieldhouse,
Indianapolis. Riley advanced to the championship game with a 65-58 victory over Fort Wayne
Northrop. Granderson, Norman, and freshman Kendra Reynolds scored 63 of Riley's 65 points,
hitting for 24, 19 and 20 respectively. Terre Haute South not only has Granderson and
Norman to contend with, but the 6'0 Reynolds, with 20 points and 10 boards, has been
having a heck of a tournament.
Reicina Russell (Terre Haute South HS, IN) - Next game: 4A State Championship game on
3/2 vs. South Bend Riley (24-3), 8:30pm in Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis. South held on
to beat defending state champion Ben Davis, 44-39, to advance to next weekend's state final
game. Russell had a game-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 6-of-15 from the field
and 6-of-7 from the line. Ben Davis coach Stan Benge was quoted in the Terre Haute Tribune,
saying of Russell..."She was throwing in hook shots from 10 feet. You have to give her
credit." Sophomore to watch Janese Banks of Ben Davis had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Sabrina Keys (Berkeley HS, CA) - Next game: 2/27 at the North Coast Section Division I
tournament. Berkeley, with the help of 16 points from Sabrina Keys, won the Alameda Contra
Costa Athletic League girls basketball championship playoff game Saturday night by beating
Encinal 59-35. Berkeley led 32-15 at the half, then started the third with a 13-2 run,
putting the game out of reach.
Sultra Harding (Wabash Valley JC, IL) - Postseason play begins March 5th.
FEBRUARY 24, 2002
Purdue is showing interest in Ron Coleman, a 6-5 sophomore from Romulus, MI. Michigan and
Michigan State are also involved early. According to a blurb in the Detroit News on his talent,
Coleman "is a shooter, a post player, is good off the dribble, and has the quickness to defend
a smaller player." Coleman averages 15 points and nine rebounds per game as a sophomore this
season, and has started games since his freshman year when he averaged 12 points per game.
Last Wednesday, Coleman had 25 points and 10 rebounds in a 57-53 win over Carleton Airport,
after his coach complained he was being too unselfish.
FEBRUARY 23, 2002
A recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times talks about the recruitment of Peoria Notre
Dame junior forward Brian Randle. The 6'8 wing forward who sports a 3.97 GPA had been mentioning
Purdue in the past, but the newest list does not have Purdue as a player. Georgetown, Kansas,
Notre Dame, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan, Stanford, North Carolina, Duke,
Louisville and Kentucky are said to be favored at the moment. Randle is named as one of top
five players in the Illinois junior class, a list that also includes Springfield Lanphier's
Richard McBride, Proviso East's Shannon Brown, West Aurora's Dameon Mason and Homewood
Christian's Jimmie Miles.
Suntana Granderson has been named the South Bend Tribune's All-Metro Player of the Year.
Teammate Crystal Norman also made the all-Metro team. Purdue signee Carol Duncan was
name to the newspaper's All-Area team. The Tribune names the two teams each year, then
puts them up against each other in an all-star competition. This year's game will be on
March 7th at Bethel College at 7:00pm. However, IHSAA rules prohibit non-seniors from
participating in all-star games during the school year, so Granderson and Norman will
not be allowed to play in the game. Granderson, the player of the two Purdue seems to
be paying the most attention toward, is averaging 21 points and eight rebounds per game.
Norman is averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds.
POSTSEASON UPDATE...
Erin Lawless (Fenwick HS, IL) - Season over. Lawless had a shot at sending the game into
overtime, but her three-pointer bounced around on the rim before rolling off the side
of the basket, giving Mother McAuley (23-10) the 50-47 win. Lawless had 22 points and seven
rebounds. Fenwick ends the season 30-4.
Candace Parker (Naperville Central HS, IL) - Season over. No. 2 Benet upset No. 1 Naperville
Central, 51-41 at Naperville. Candace Parker was limited in the third and fourth quarters
due to foul trouble, and eventually fouled out of the game with less than two minutes remaining.
She finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots on the evening, as Naperville
Central finished the season with a record of 28-3.
FEBRUARY 21, 2002
Melvin Buckley led all scorers with 12 points in a 58-35 win over Rich South.
Candace Parker (Naperville Central HS, IL) - Next game: 2/21 vs. Benet Academy at Benet
Academy. Parker dunked for the second time this season in the 44-27 win over Glenbard North.
She ended the game with 11 points.
Erin Lawless (Fenwick HS, IL) - Next game: 2/21 vs. Mother McAuley at Eisenhower HS.
For the third season in a row, Fenwick has reached the 30-win mark. Fenwick is now 30-3 after
a 63-43 sectional win over four seed Sandburg. Erin Lawless had 20 points and 10 boards in the
win.
Alison Bales (Beavercreek HS, OH) - Next game: 2/23 vs. Springfield North (12-9) at West
Carollton High (8:00pm). Beavercreek cruised past Piqua, 53-16, in the quarterfinal round game
of the 2002 Ohio Division I tournament.
Crystal Norman and Suntana Granderson (South Bend Riley HS, IN) - Next game: 2/23 vs.
Fort Wayne Northrop (17-8) at Plymouth (3:30pm).
Reicina Russell (Terre Haute South HS, IN) - Next game: 2/23 vs. Ben Davis (19-8) at
Southport HS (3:30pm).
Sabrina Keys (Berkeley HS, CA) - Postseason play begins February 23rd.
Sultra Harding (Wabash Valley JC, IL) - Postseason play begins March 5th.
Junior Rashaun Bryant, a 6'8 250lbs power forward from Rome, GA is showing early interest in
Purdue, along with most of the Big Ten and ACC. Bryant averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds
as a sophomore. Bryant is ranked as the 18th best power forward by Prep Spotlight, and
played AAU last summer with the Georgia Stars.
Here's a link to the box score for Cathedral's loss this past Saturday to Terre Haute North.
Vaden led Cathedral with 19 points and six rebounds, but turned the ball over seven times.
Gadis had two points and two assists. Gadis had 10 points in 12 minutes on Friday against
Northwest, while Vaden had 12 points, six boards and two turnovers.
When The Sporting News recently asked high school prospects to name assistant coaches
they enjoyed being in contact with during the recruiting process, Cuonzo Martin's named showed
up on the list. Prospects were asked to name assistants they trusted, who answered their
questions clearly, and were very personable. Only two other Big Ten assistants were given high
marks, Ohio State's Paul Biancardi and Illinois' Norm Roberts.
FEBRUARY 18, 2002
A list of 100 nominees for the 2002 McDonalds All-American game has been released, and Matt
Kiefer is on the list.
Erin Lawless and Candace Parker have been named to the Chicago Sun-Times all-area team.
Both Lawless and Parker came close to being named the MVP, an award instead won by Johanna
Solverson. Parker is at the head of a sophomore class that is being touted as Illinois' best
class in years. Other sophomores on the all-area team include Fenwick guard Kristin Heidloff,
Marian Catholic center Lauren Lacey, Trinity forward Caprice Smith and Neuqua Valley forward
Lindsay Wisdom.
FEBRUARY 17, 2002
POSTSEASON UPDATE...Another Purdue recruit falls, while a load of Indiana junior prospects are
on a collision course to the 4A state title.
Sharika Webb (Cathedral HS, IN) - Season over. Cathedral fell to Perry Meridian in the
semifinals of the Southport regional, 49-47. Sharika Webb led Cathedral with 20 points.
Cathedral ends the season at 21-3.
Crystal Norman and Suntana Granderson (South Bend Riley HS, IN) - Next game: 2/23 vs.
Fort Wayne Northrop (17-8) at Plymouth (3:30pm). Riley advanced to semistate with a 66-64
win over Gary West, a game that was a rimmed-out three away from having a different outcome.
Granderson led Riley with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Norman added 18. In the early
game, Granderson again led Riley with 21 points in a 54-46 win over Penn. South Bend Riley's
record is now 23-3.
Reicina Russell (Terre Haute South HS, IN) - Next game: 2/23 vs. Ben Davis (19-8) at
Southport HS (3:30pm). No. 3 Terre Haute South avenged an early season loss that knocked them
from the No. 1 spot by defeating No. 1 Bloomington South 57-41. Russell finished with a
double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds. THS had a much easier time in the semifinal
game, beating Castle by 45 points. THS is now 23-2.
Alison Bales (Beavercreek HS, OH) - Next game: 2/20 vs. Piqua at West Carollton
High. The defending Division I state champs opened the tournament with a 51-34 win over
Centerville. Alison Bales led all scorers with 25 points. In the final state poll released
last week, Beavercreek was ranked No. 3 with a 17-3 record.
Blair Hardiek (Effingham HS, IL) - Season over. With center Martina Borries out with
mononucleosis, Effingham had no answer for Matoon's inside game, and increased pressure on the
Effingham scorers. Held to only one shot in the first half, Hardiek finished with 15 points
(nine below her season average) and was the only double-figure scorer for Effingham. They
end the season with a 20-9 record.
Candace Parker (Naperville Central HS, IL) - Next game: 2/18 vs. Glenbard North at Benet
Academy. Wheaton North has something their 2-22 record does not show. They have met Naperville
Central twice this year, and both times have held all-american Candace Parker to only eight
points. A bittersweet accomplishment, as they have lost both games. Naperville beat Wheaton
North 66-27, then moved on to beat Wheaton-Warrenville South 55-29 on Thursday. Parker scored
29 in the win.
Erin Lawless (Fenwick HS, IL) - Next game: 2/18 vs. Sandburg at Eisenhower HS. Fenwick
has cruised to two easy wins over Bremen (91-34) and Oak Park (72-39). Limited by foul trouble
most of the game, Lawless finished with 15 points against Oak Park. She had 18 points and seven
rebounds in the opener against Bremen. Fenwick is currently at 29-3 on the season.
Sabrina Keys (Berkeley HS, CA) - Postseason play begins February 23rd. Still in the midst
of regular season play, Berkeley lost a close one to the nation's No. 25 team, Pinewood, 43-41.
Berkeley was Pinewood's 19th straight victim. Sabrina Keys led Berkeley with 11 points.
Sultra Harding (Wabash Valley JC, IL) - Postseason play begins March 5th.
Thornwood won their third straight SICA East title Saturday night with a 55-47 victory over
rival Thornridge. Buckley finished with 14 points, and led Thornwood in rebounds (8) and blocks
(2).
Melvin Buckley came out of a shooting slump for 17 points in a 68-50 win over No. 11 Shepard.
Fourteen of his points came in the first half as he and teammate David Moss (Indiana State
recruit) hit 8-of-9 attempts from the perimeter. Thornwood is now 19-4 and undefeated in the
SICA East.
A forum contributor has submitted this scouting report from last Friday's game between Warren
Central and Cathedral, with comments on both Ashley Mays and Sharika Webb.
Postseason Update: Duncan now joins Mays and Gearlds on the sidelines, while several
prospects continue on to regionals. All regional games are held at 10:00am or noon on
Saturday the 16th, followed by the regional final game that evening at 8:00pm.
Carol Duncan (NorthWood HS, IN) - Season over. Freshman forward Katie St. Clair hit a
layup with 15 seconds remaining to help St. Joe's knock off NorthWood, 37-35. Carol Duncan
had 12 points and 12 boards in the loss. NorthWood finishes the season with a 16-6 record.
Crystal Norman and Suntana Granderson (South Bend Riley HS, IN) - Next game: 2/16 vs.
Penn (17-6) at Valparaiso. Back in December, Suntana Granderson set the Riley single-game
scoring record in a 42 point outburst. Two months later, teammate Crystal Norman would be
breaking it by one. Norman hit for 43 points in the sectional finals against Washington
as Riley moved past the sectional stepping stone with a 83-50 win. Granderson, still
slowed by a thigh bruise, had 18 points and eight rebounds. Norman led Riley's rebounding
effort with 12 of her own.
Sharika Webb (Cathedral HS, IN) - Next game: 2/16 vs. Perry Meridian (16-5) at Southport
HS. Cathedral was nearly unbeatable as a Class 3A school, winning two straight state
championships. Moving up to Class 4A in 2001-2002, Cathedral is proving they are hard to stop
on any level. Cathedral cruised to a 62-47 win over Class 4A No. 2 Lawrence North, behind a
team-high 17 points from Sharika Webb. Webb shot 6-of-14 from the field and 5-of-5 from the
line, adding two assists, one block and three steals. The Irish are now 21-2 on the season.
Reicina Russell (Terre Haute South HS, IN) - Next game: 2/16 vs. Castle (20-3) at Bedford
North Lawrence HS. Russell had 10 points and 12 rebounds as Mooresville attempted to slow
the game to a crawl to keep Terre Haute from running away with it. While holding the ball for
six minutes in the third quarter will definitely make a dent in scoring totals, it still did
not stop South from beating Mooresville by double digits. Russell is now approaching the
1,000 career scoring mark.
FEBRUARY 9, 2002
Postseason Update: An update on the status of a few prospects as we reach the end of the
2000-2001 basketball season...
Carol Duncan (NorthWood HS, IN) - Next game: 2/09 vs. St. Joseph's (18-4) at Northridge HS.
Northwood defeated Mishawaka Marian, 63-25. Duncan led all scorers with 14 points and they
held their opponent to just 19-percent shooting for the evening. Northwood puts their 16-5
record up against a team they defeated earlier in the season, St. Joseph's (18-4). Tip-off is
at 7:30 tonight, and the game will be broadcast locally on WLRX (95.7 FM).
Ashley Mays (Warren Central HS, IN) - Season over. Warren Central was beaten by Cathedral,
64-50 in first round sectional action. Mays finished with 15 points. Warren Central finished
the season with a record of 10-11.
Sharika Webb (Cathedral HS, IN) - Next game: 2/09 vs. Lawrence North (20-1) at Arlington
HS. Sharika Webb had 25 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals to lead the Irish
(20-2) in a 64-50 win over Warren Central. No. 4 Cathdral plays No. 2 Lawrence North (20-1)
tonight for a chance to advance to regionals.
Katie Gearlds (Beech Grove, IN) - Season over. No. 8 Beech Grove lost to No. 2 Brebeuf,
56-42 in the first round of sectionals. Gearlds finished with 24 points on 6-of-21 shooting.
Beech Grove finishes the season with a 17-5 record.
Reicina Russell (Terre Haute South HS, IN) - Next game: 2/09 vs. Mooresville (20-3) at
Northview HS. Russell had 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks as No. 3 Terre Haute South
(20-2) beat Martinsville (12-8), 68-52. Russell broke the single-season scoring record for
the Braves. "It's just another thing to come along," Russell was quoted by the Terre Haute
Tribune. "I couldn't do it without the team. It's like Larry Bird says, it's not the one
who scores, it's the one who gives them the ball."
Crystal Norman and Suntana Granderson (South Bend Riley HS, IN) - Next game: 2/09 vs.
South Bend Washington (10-10) at South Bend Riley. Riley knocked off their first two opponents
of the 2002 tournament in impressive fashion. On Tuesday, Riley defeated Michigan City, 62-35.
Granderson led all scorers with 20 points, while Norman finished with eight points. On Friday,
it was Norman's time to lead with Granderson suffering from a deep thigh bruise (Granderson
had 27 points and 13 rebounds playing with a calf injury last Saturday). Crystal led all scorers
with 23 points and 12 boards, while the hobbled Granderson managed 13. In the past two games,
not one of Granderson's or Norman's shots have come from the perimeter.
Alison Bales (Beavercreek HS, OH) - Next game: 2/13 vs. Centerville at North Carollton
High.
Blair Hardiek (Effingham HS, IL) - Next game: 2/12 vs. Charleston at Mattoon.
Candace Parker (Naperville Central HS, IL) - Next game: 2/11 vs. Wheaton North at Benet
Academy.
Sabrina Keys (Berkeley HS, CA) - Postseason play begins February 23rd.
Sultra Harding (Wabash Valley JC, IL) - Postseason play begins March 5th.
FEBRUARY 8, 2002
A frequent forum contributor over on the Tennessee board, Betty Bean, has written a profile
story on South Doyle HS (TN) sophomore Sade Buley. A very good read...
Those hoping to catch a couple top junior targets this season are out of luck. Junior scoring
guard Sylvester Mayes has been ruled academically ineligible and will miss the remainder of the
season at South Bend Clay. And 6'5 junior wing Robert Barker blew out his knee during a game
last week and is likely lost for the season. Barker is also getting a heavy press from Thad
Matta, former Butler coach now at Xavier. Xavier has an offer on the table, and Barker is
looking at it very hard.
A scouting report by Fort Wayne Boiler on Adam Liddell, posted on our forum this past weekend...
"Defense: Had four blocked shorts and nine boards. When he played Carroll would not take
the ball inside. He definitely was a threat. His opposing player didn't score. He used his
board well to get good positioning. Adam did pick up two quick fouls in the first half.
However, they just came in the flow of the game - not bad decisions. Offense: He really
looks to pass the ball first. I think he had six assists. He is definately an unselfish ball
player. Dekalb had some good three point shooters to make the defense pay for collapsing down
on him. Adam really didn't dominate the game until Dekalb need baskets in the 4th period. Up
to that point he just took what ever the defense gave him. Again he used his body well to his
advantage. Free throws: He was 1-1 but shoots flat footed. Three pointers: He was 0-2. He
took good shots and squared up. They just didn't go in. I'd let him keep shooting them.
Running the floor: He hustled back on defense but didn't necessarily trail the fast break
with much energy. He didn't lead too many fast breaks either. Dominance: Adam did throw down
two dunks early in the 4th when his team needed to open up the game. One was a nice baseline
drive. The other was an alley-oop. Neither time did he sky above the rim. I think Adam can
dominate if his team needs him too. Leadership: Adam plays post so the team didn't look to
him for much floor control. Late in the 4th, when it was an eight point game, Adam did direct
some traffic and make sure people were on the right page. Adam remained in control the whole
game - played within his element and emotions. Body: Adam has broad shoulders and stands 6-7
(according to the program). He will need most body mass and strength. However, his frame will
handle it easily. Overall, I enjoyed wathcing him play and look forward to seeing him next
year. He has a lot of up side potential with hard work and strength conditioning."
(2/4/02)
No. 8 Beech Grove fell in the first round of sectional action to No. 2 Brebeuf, 56-42. Katie
Gearlds finished with 24 points on 6-of-21 shooting against one of the state's best defensive
teams. The win was bittersweet for Brebeuf junior Carrie Smith, who has played summer ball with
Gearlds since they were 10.
The Journal and Courier has an update on the progress of the four players set to join Purdue
next fall. Hoop Scoop thinks the class rates as the nation's 10th best, while Van Coleman has
Purdue ranked 15th, and Recruiting USA 17th.
Word has it that Curry is looking at another junior college center other than Harding and Henry,
and would like to add one this spring.
Sharika Webb ended the regular season this weekend leading No. 5 Cathedral in scoring (18.0),
minutes (25.8), assists (3.9) and steals (3.2). She is also second on the team from the line,
shooting a very respectable 84-of-104 attempts. Cathedral goes into tournament play with a
19-2 record.
Purdue is showing interest in 6'6 junior Nick Brooks of Robinson (IL), along with Illinois and
Iowa. Brooks is currently averaging 24 points per game.
Robert Vaden led Cathedral with 13 points on Saturday in a 70-51 win against Shelbyville.
Vaden is currently Cathedral's scoring leader with an average of 16.6 points per game. Teammate
Desomnd Gadis is fifth in scoring with a 5.7 average, but has yet to crack the starting lineup.
Gadis and Vaden are the only two sophomores on varsity, and the starting lineup consists of two
seniors, two juniors and Vaden. Cathedral's senior class makes up 34-percent of Cathedral's
total minutes per game.
Tyler Junior College is on a seven-game losing streak and their record stands at 7-14. This
weekend, Chris Booker was the only scorer in double figures as Tyler rallied from 20 down to
pull within five points with three minutes left. Yet they would get no closer as Trinity Valley
held on for the 74-65 win. Booker had 21 points. Only the top eight teams in the conference
get to advance to the postseason tournament, but Tyler has a firm hold on the 12th spot at
the moment with nine games remaining.
Thornwood coach Kevin Haywood did not start Melvin Buckley on Friday night in an attempt to
ease him into the action after getting a feel for the game. Buckley responded with a game-high
18 points and three blocked shots on 75-percent shooting.
Some prospects were spotted at the Wisconsin game on Sunday. Katie Gearlds was in the house
spending some time with 6'2 Chicago Fenwick forward Erin Lawless. Also there were a couple
players from Indianapolis Brebeuf, one believed to be a 6'2 forward or post player. The two
players that fit that bill on Brebeuf are 6'2 junior Carrie Smith and 6'2 sophomore Amber
Jackson. Smith is probably Indiana's best junior post player behind Reicina Russell, and
Jackson is the only sophomore in Indiana to make the Street & Smith All-American list.
For those who got a good look at the players, here is a link to a picture of the Brebeuf
girls team. Smith is in the foreground, No. 54, and Jackson is in the back with the headband.
Speaking of the top post player in the Indiana junior class, Reicina Russell is on target to
be the first player in Terre Haute South history to reach 1,000 points by the end of her
junior season. South took the Vigo county championship last Wednesday behind Russell's
game high 21 points, nine boards and three blocks.
Indiana sectional play begins on Tuesday. As we did last season, we will try to keep you
updated on what players are still active and when they will play next. Here's a list of how
each Indiana player will start sectional play...
Carol Duncan - Northwood plays Mishawaka Marian on Friday at Northridge High.
Ashley Mays - Warren Central plays Cathedral on Friday at Indianapolis Arlington High.
Sharika Webb - Cathedral plays Warren Central on Friday at Indianapolis Arlington High.
Katie Gearlds - Beech Grove plays Brebeuf on Tuesday at New Palestine High.
Reicina Russell - Terre Haute South plays Martinsville on Friday at Northview High.
Crystal Norman - South Bend Riley plays Michigan City on Tuesday at South Bend Riley High.
Suntana Granderson - South Bend Riley plays Michigan City on Tuesday at South Bend Riley.
Alison Bales - Beavercreek (OH) plays Centerville on Wednesday the 13th at North Carollton High.
JANUARY 30, 2002
Alison Bales scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in front of 7,800 fans as Beavercreek
soundly defeated USA Today's No. 1 team, Chaminade-Julienne, 56-27. The crowd is thought to
be the largest ever to see a regular season girls game in the state of Ohio. The game was moved
to Wright State in anticipation of a large crowd, but few thought the teams would draw the
largest crowd to show up at Wright State's Nutter Center this year. Beavercreek, who sponsored
the game, is expected to add a minimum of $25,000 to their general athletic fund as a result
of gate receipts.
From the same paper, a recruiting article talks about how shootouts like last week's McDonald's
Shootout in Chicago draw college coaches. Being seen by players is as equally as important on
these trips as actually evaluating the talent.
A great article on Chris Booker from the Tyler Telegraph. The article speaks of his
leadership, his NBA potential, and why he chose Keady over all the other top coaches pursuing
him last fall.
Melvin Buckley was almost the hero Saturday night when his last second three-pointer rimmed out
as the buzzer sounded. Thornwood dropped their fourth game of the season in a 56-54 loss to
Evanston.
Katie Gearlds to Purdue! Katie verballed to the staff following the Iowa game. We had heard
from a person close to the situation last week that it might happen on Sunday, which turned out
to be true. Congratulations to Katie!
JANUARY 25, 2002
Including games through January 22, Jeff Sagarin's ratings of Indiana girls teams has
Reicina Russell's Terre Haute South at No. 2, playing the 16th toughest schedule. Also
ranked among the top fifty teams are -- Sharika Webb and Cathedral at No. 5 (schedule No. 48),
Katie Gearlds and Beech Grove at No. 13 (schedule No. 39), Granderson, Norman and South Bend
Riley at No. 20 (schedule No. 97), Ashley Mays and Warren Central at No. 36 (schedule No. 4)
and Carol Duncan and NorthWood at No. 46 (No. 109).
Former Boilermaker Shalicia Hurns has left Wabash Valley Junior College and is currently
enrolled at Rutgers. Hurns was dismissed from the program for disciplinary reasons.
Two prospects are scheduled to visit Mackey Sunday as the Boilers take on Iowa.
Katie Gearlds is expected, as is 5'10 sophomore Janese Banks of Indianapolis Ben Davis. Banks
averaged 7.2 points and 5.3 rebounds as a freshman, playing on Indiana's most talented squad.
Now as a sophomore, she is averaging 18.4 points, shooting 103-of-249 (.410) from the floor and
22-of-45 (.490) from the perimeter. She also adds 9.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals
per game.
JANUARY 24, 2002
Thornwood was 1-1 over the weekend, dropping a Saturday game to New Trier after beating No. 5
Bloom Township on Friday. On Friday, Buckley only took two shots from the floor, making them
both, and finished with five points. The next evening, Buckley led Thornwood with 13 points
and six rebounds.
JANUARY 23, 2002
The McDonald's Girls Prep Classic in Chicago wrapped up on Monday with two great games. No. 1
Fenwick beat the No. 1 team in Ohio, Beavercreek, 52-49. The win snapped Beavercreek's 41-game
winning streak. For Fenwick, 6'2 junior Erin Lawless scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
For Beavercreek, 6'6 junior center Alison Bales had 27 points. Bales was recently seen in
Mackey Arena on an unoffical visit for the Ohio State game, while Lawless, according to the
Chicago Sun-Times, has an offer on the table from Purdue. In the other close game, Katie
Gearlds again led all scorers with 31 points, but Beech Grove failed to get past Illinois
No. 10 Regina. Beech Grove lost in overtime, 48-44.
South Bend Riley joined the McDonald's Girls Prep Classic on Monday in a matchup against
Hinsdale Central. Neither Suntana Granderson's 14 points or Crystal Norman's 18 could rescue
Riley from the 63-43 loss.
A Purdue assistant coach was in attendance for Riley's win on Friday at home over South Bend
Washington. Norman led all scorers with 29 points in that game.
Northwood improved to 14-3 with a 51-39 win over Goshen. Goshen led 23-21 at halftime before
NorthWood pulled away in the third. Carol Duncan had 16 points.
The Effingham (IL) Hearts have a revised goal -- win 20 games. With a current record of 17-5
with five games remaining, the goal is within reach. Blair Hardiek scored 25 points in a Monday
win over Paris.
Chris Booker currently stands as the 7th best junior college rebounder in the nation through
15 games, according to the NJCAA. Booker is averaging 12.2 rebounds per game.
JANUARY 21, 2002
Some nice comments from Mike Sullivan over at the Sporting News site on David
Teague. Sullivan thinks he is ready to be an impact player for Purdue next season. Scroll down
to the bottom of the article...
Going independent this year gave Berkeley the freedom to schedule tougher teams, as their 8-7
record going into Saturday's game against California's No. 1 team brutally indicated. Marin
Catholic, who last month defeated the nation's No. 1 team in Highlands Ranch (CO), could not
hold on to a six-point fourth quarter lead and fell to Berkeley 57-52. Sabrina Keys all but
erased that deficit by herself, scoring Berkeley's first seven points of the fourth quarter.
Sabrina ended with a game-high 18 points, sitting the entire second quarter after picking up
two quick fouls.
Curry has made a big impression on a California post player without ever sending a letter.
Just a freshman, 6'0 Ashley Walker has been making a name for herself early in her high school
career.
At the McDonald's Girls Prep Classic in Chicago...
Katie Gearlds led all scorers with 27 points in a 65-49 loss to Chicago Fenwick (21-1). Purdue
target Erin Lawless had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Fenwick, playing on a tender ankle.
Cathedral lost their first game of the season in a 56-52 decision to Benet. Sharika Webb had
20 points.
Naperville Central's Candace Parker scored 23 points and pulled down 15 rebounds against
Wisconsin's No. 1 team Janesville Parker HS. The Parker of the Janesville variety beat the
Parker of the Candace variety, 61-46. Duke recruit Mistie Bass had 17 points and 12 boards.
Indiana Class 3A No. 3 Kokomo defeated Illinois No. 5 New Trier 45-43, while Indiana Class 4A
No. 10 Noblesville defeated Illinois No. 13 Stevenson, 66-41.
JANUARY 19, 2002
Keep an eye out for 5'6 point guard Leah Phillips of Castle HS (IN). Already getting some buzz
as one of the top freshmen in the state, she is backing it up with being one of the leading
scorers for Class 4A No. 10 Castle. She has a season high of 30, and scored 24 in the
championship game of the SIAC tournament last weekend. Phillips has early interest in a host
of schools including Purdue, Tennessee, UConn, North Carolina, Duke, Indiana and Evansville.
Sharika Webb helped Cathedral remain unbeaten by contributing 29 points at the McDonald's
Girls Prep Classic in Chicago. Indiana Class 4A No. 4 Cathedral defeated Illinois Class 2A
No. 6 Hope 74-73 in overtime. Teams from the state of Indiana were 2-1 on the opening
night of the tournament. Along with Cathedral's win, Noblesville defeated Downers Grove
South 81-48. Former Indiana Class 4A No. 1 Kokomo went down to national No. 11 Marian
Catholic 52-50.
Matt Kiefer led all in an 80-66 victory over South Spencer. Kiefer finished with 30 points and
11 rebounds. Mater Dei (8-6) is currently riding a six-game winning streak.
Newly released scoring data from the South Bend Tribune has Suntana Granderson as the
third best scorer in north central Indiana at 21.4 points per game. Carol Duncan ranks 10th
in scoring with a 16.1 average, and 4th in rebounding with 10.3 boards per game. South Bend
Riley's Crystal Norman is averaging 15.5.
Katie Gearlds ranks as the state's 4th best scorer, averaging 26.0 points per game. Leading
the state is Wawasee senior Shanna Zolman (35.0), followed by New Washington senior Sonya
Wahl (26.9) and Alexandria freshman Jodi Howell (26.2).
Terre Haute South lost their second game of the season this past weekend, the latest loss to
No. 5 Lawrence North, 53-52. The other loss came to current Class 4A No. 1 Bloomington South.
Reicina Russell led all scorers with 24 points and 15 rebounds.
The Chicago Tribune has a story on Peoria Notre Dame junior Brian Randle. The story only
mentions Duke and Kansas, but Purdue has shown interest as has Illinois. For a Chicago newspaper
to ignore the attention Illinois is giving him and only mention Duke and Kansas is almost
absurd. Anyway, here is the story...
This blurb on Seimone Augustus appeared in an article in the Advocate by sportswriter
Robin Fambrough on Sunday ... "Capitol's Augustus still has made only one official
recruiting visit -- to Duke in November. LSU still remains in the picture but no official
visit has been set."
Purdue is looking at junior college 6'4 sophomore center Janet Henry, formerly of Chicago
Luther South (IL). Now at Iowa Western CC, Henry is enjoying a 13-2 season and a No. 20
ranking among Division I junior colleges. In high school, Henry averaged 24 points, 12
rebounds, five blocks, five steals and three assists per game while rising to No. 24
among the class of 2000 nationally. She was ranked two spots higher than current Boiler
forward Shereka Wright by All Star Girls Report. Originally signing with Fresno State,
Henry ended up going the junior college route. Henry scored 12 points in her last outing
against Iowa Central, and hit for 22 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals
on January 6th against Penn Valley. Below are some links to info on Henry.
An update on 6'1 junior Brandon Cotton, a point guard from Detroit. According to his coach,
Cotton is currently looking at the pros and cons of Michigan State, Duke, Louisville,
Kentucky, Georgetown, Purdue, Michigan, Detroit, Penn State, and Rutgers.
Several Purdue targets were seen seated behind the bench during Purdue's 80-43 victory over
Ohio State. Beavercreek (OH) center Alison Bales and South Bend (IN) guard Suntana Granderson
were seen along with a frequent visitor to Purdue games, Beech Grove HS guard Katie Gearlds.
This may have been the first game Gearlds has attended in Mackey this season, after attending
many last season. Beech Grove's schedule has conflicted with all but two of Purdue's home games
to date, but most of the Big Ten Conference home games are free for her to attend. Gearlds could
be Purdue's best recruiter once she makes up her mind whether the Boilers are a good fit. Also
seen behind the bench was a recruit wearing a "Pickerington" jacket, thought to be sophomore
Marscilla Packer, a 5'10 all-american wing from Pickerington HS (OH). Packer attended
the Adidas Top 10 Camp last summer, and has been named honorable mention all-american by
Street & Smith. As a freshman, she was named to Ohio's Division I all-state third team after
averaging 17 points and four rebounds, shooting 60-percent from the perimeter for most of the
year through 40 attempts. Packer set a school sophomore scoring record on Friday with 36 points
against Newark. She is averaging 20.8 points this season. Others schools Packer lists include
Ohio State, Tennessee, Duke and Connecticut.
Mater Dei won the SAIC championship in controversial fashion on Saturday when Reitz was whistled
for a technical foul for rushing the floor before the final buzzer sounded. The actual game
clock showed 0:00.0 seconds remaining, yet the officials did not consider the game over. Kiefer
fouled out of the game at the 0:00.0 mark, getting his fifth foul which sent Reitz to the line
for the go ahead freethrows. After the technical was whistled, Mater Dei's Patrick Mallory hit
both to win the game 67-66. Kiefer had 21 points.
Mater Dei moved into the finals of the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference Tournament with
an overtime win over Castle, 79-75. Matt Kiefer had 27 points, while teammate Patrick Mallory
finished with 33. Mater Dei (5-6) will face Evansville Reitz (8-2) for the title.
A scouting report from Mater Dei's win Friday night against Castle.
Scouting report by Ed Mason..."I went to see Matt Kiefer play against Castle (Dedrick Finn)
tonight. Matt has a really nice touch on the ball with excellent range. He is amazingly quick
and agile for a player his size with the skills, offensively, of a three. He was three of six
from behind the arc. He made quick moves from the perimeter and drove both left and right
passed his defender then slide sideways to avoid the charge. It was amazing that the other
team could not contain him on the outside. On the interior he posts and has a really quick
spin move for a short jump shot. Once, he passed the ball from three quarter court to a
teammate for an open three pointer and then Matt rebounded the miss. He passes well and is
not at all selfish. On defense he turned and looked for someone to block out on every shot.
He is Brad Miller's size only quicker, more agile, with slightly better hops and more range.
His up side is real high. On the down side he is not a quick leaper or a great shot blocker."
(1/12/02)
Thornwood remained the top team in the SICA East with a 31-29 win over Thornridge. Thornwood
was coming off a third consecutive State Farm Holiday Tournament championship, where Melvin
Buckley was named to the all-tournament team. Thornwood rolled past Jacksonville, Normal,
Lincoln, Rockford Boylan and Quincy Notre Dame for the championship. Here's a brief game-by-game
summary of Buckley's performances in the tournament.
Thornwood 69 - Jacksonville 49: Buckley scored 12 points and four rebounds and shot 50-percent
from the perimeter.
Thornwood 46 - Normal 35: Although scoreless in three attempts from the perimeter,
Buckley shot 6-of-7 from inside the arc to finish with 16 points and three boards.
Thornwood 49 - Lincoln 27: Only five Thornwood players scored in the game with Buckley
third on the team with 11 points.
Thornwood 57 - Rockford Boylan 43: Thornwood played Rockford for the championship of the
Illinois Class AA bracket. Buckley's best game statistically, leading Thornwood with
19 points and four boards. He took 11 shots from the perimeter, making three.
Thornwood 62 - Quincy Notre Dame 57: Thornwood played Quincy for the tournament championship
against the Illinois Class A bracket winner. Another 50-percent shooting night from the field
for a total of 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.
Also at the same tournament was another player Purdue has been paying attention to, Brian
Randle of Peoria Notre Dame. Randle was also named to the all-tournament team, but Peoria
was much less successful there than Thornwood. Randle averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and
three assists through three games during the tournament.
A one-point game in the final minute ended up as a 91-88 loss to Maine Central Institute
last Wednesday as Bridgton Academy dropped a major league test at home. David Teague came
back from a long Christmas break with a game-high 30 points against a high quality team.
Tyler (7-7) ran their season won-loss record even with a 105-86 win over Panola. Booker had
16 points and 10 rebounds, sitting most of the first half with two early fouls. Tyler plays
No. 1 San Jacinto tonight, three days after San Jacinto was beaten by Lon Morris, another
tough opponent Tyler will face next Saturday.
JANUARY 11, 2002
Due to academic issues, Kennitra Johnson has left the Purdue program. In a statement from the
Sports Information Department, Kristy Curry had this to say..."We certainly were excited about
Kennitra being at Purdue and we did the best we could to help her be successful. We wish her
the best of luck." With the academic troubles of Johnson and the academic questionmarks
surrounding junior college transfer Mandy Davis, incoming freshmen Sharika Webb and Ashley
Mays may be counted on to contribute significantly their freshman year.
According to the IHSAA, Katie Gearlds ranks third in the state and is the top non-senior scorer
in the state with a 26.5 average through 14 games.
A nice story on Blair Hardiek, with comments from her coach on her value to the team.
Evansville Mater Dei got 22 points and 13 boards from Matt Kiefer in a 77-64 win over Harrison,
setting up a game against 4A No. 10 Castle in the semifinals of the Southern Indiana Athletic
Conference Tournament. Mater Dei (4-6) will go up against AAU teammate and Xavier recruit
Dedrick Finn, who has been slowed by a recent knee injury.
JANUARY 7, 2002
The player profile has been added for class of 2004 Candace Parker.
Chris Booker led Tyler College with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Tyler came back from a long
Christmas break to beat Cisco, 74-69. Not including Friday's game with Cisco, Booker is
averaging 18.4 points, shooting 67-of-118 (.568) from the floor, 36-of-48 (.750) from the line
and 4-of-10 (.400) from the perimeter. His scoring average ranks him ninth among Region 14
players, and his 12.3 rebounds per game average ranks him third.
JANUARY 6, 2002
The Indianapolis Star has a writeup on the Cathedral win Friday over Muncie South.
Matt Keifer had 30 points and 18 rebounds in a 50-36 win over rival Evansville Memorial. Matt
was 11-of-16 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line.
Two of 3A No. 4 NorthWood's three losses on the season are now to 4A No. 6 Wawasee, as NorthWood
fell Friday 75-57 behind a career high from Shanna Zolman. Carol Duncan had 24 points and 12
rebounds.
The South Bend Riley duo of Granderson and Norman had almost identical nights statistically as
slipped by South Bend Adams 58-53. Adams fell to 10-3 on the season, and lost their share of
the NIC lead with Riley. Suntana had 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Norman had 20 and 10.
Granderson also surpassed the 1,000 point career scoring mark. Notre Dame head coach Muffet
McGraw was in attendance.
Beech Grove (11-3) defeated Roncalli 46-39 with 30 points coming from Katie Gearlds.
Evansville Mater Dei head coach Roger Sills thinks his star player can improve upon his
current average of 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks per game, as he told the Evansville
Courier. "If Kiefer is averaging five blocks, he should be averaging five steals. He's not
anticipating. He's letting the other team's offense come to him instead of taking his defense
to the offense."
A scouting report from Cathedral's win Friday night against Muncie South.
Scouting report by IrishAlum..."I had my first opportunity to see the Vaden and Gadis kids
while home this weekend in Indianapolis. I can believe all the hype on Vaden. He looks like a
college player already. You almost question his age, as his experience is far above the other
players on the court. He's a good 6'5, and played mostly in the high post on defense. On
offense, he can do anything. He had close to 15 points in the first half on a team where
everyone seems to be good and they move the offense around from player to player. I think he
had 24 points total. He missed on a few perimeter shots, and shoots well off the dribble. I
noticed he tends to favor his right side when shooting. I don't know if you tinker with
perfection, but who knows how good this kid can be if he squared to the basket on his jumpers.
Phenomenal player. It looks like Gadis may be a late bloomer. The Decatur kid is the best guard
on this team, and will continue to get the most minutes. Gadis essentially replaces him in
the lineup. I liked the potential I saw in him. He's fearless and has a scorers mentality. He
had a clutch shot at the end of a very close game with Muncie to give Cathedral the chance to
win it. I've seen you mention his turnovers, and saw it firsthand. He doesn't make the
best passing decisions yet, but does get others involved. Does silly things like trying to
throw a chest pass across the court through the defense. He has nice size and handles the ball
well. I couldn't really tell at this point if he is going to be a point guard or a backup
shooting guard in college. Maybe others watching can add more comments on his future position."
(1/5/02)
JANUARY 4, 2002
Sophomore Candace Parker continues to assault high school records. After being only the second
high school girls player to dunk during a game on December 27th, Parker scored her 1,000th point
in a 52-31 win over 11-3 Glenbard North. She also pulled down 34 rebounds in the game, the
fourth-best rebounding effort in Illinois state history.
South Bend Clay, behind 36 points from 6-foot-1 junior Sylvester Mayes, won the Northern Indiana
Conference Holiday Tournament last Saturday by defeating No. 4 South Bend Washington 74-69.
Mayes moved into sixth place on Clay's career scoring list with 970 points.
JANUARY 2, 2002
South Bend Riley hosted, then won, their holiday tournament last week with three wins over two
Indiana teams and one of the Chicago's best. Both Suntana Granderson and Crystal Norman made the
all tournament team, along with two previously recruited Purdue prospects -- Lindsay Richards
of Barrington and Candis Jackson of Chicago Whitney Young. Riley opened the tournament behind a
school record 42-point performance from Granderson in a 75-49 romp over Merrillville. Game two
saw 23 points from Granderson and 19 from Norman against then 10-2 Rochester. Riley dispatched
the Zebras 73-56, and set up the final game with Chicago Whitney Young. Whitney Young advanced
to the finals with a 49-37 win over Barrington (IL). Riley couldn't stop Young's Candis Jackson
from hitting for a game-high 23 points, but held all other Young players in the single digits
to win 56-47. Granderson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Norman finished with 17 points,
six rebounds and three blocks. Riley's record now stands at 13-1.
To see the 2001 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.
AUGUST 5, 2002![[BACK IN TIME]](../../../hoopsrecruiting/icons/go.gif){kind=icon}
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