By Marcus Shockley

I get some grief now and then for assessments of players; this is not unique to any scout or writer. Whenever you try to evaluate a player, there is room for error and there are so many intangibles; how much the player is going to work, how much you’ve actually seen a player, and so on. The reality is, even if you are almost always right, you are going to make mistakes. You are going to be wrong sometimes. That’s one of the reasons I put out the Right-Wrong Awards at the end of the year sometimes to showcase that yes, we did get many things right but we own up to things we got wrong as well.

But I also don’t like the ‘adjusting’ of assessments and rankings that happens based on what’s going on with a recruit. Many people have complained over the years that if UNC, Duke, Kentucky or Kansas offer a player, suddenly that player gets bumped up in the rankings. But I would also point out that the opposite is true, which no one wants to hear.

Just because someone has offered a player, it should not change the assessment of that player.

Let’s say that a player is evaluated as a low-major DI prospect by several scouts. Then suddenly, a high major pops up and offers him. Now, there are only two scenarios here. Either the player has proven something to the high major that the scouts overlooked or the player really is a low major prospect but the college recruiter’s evaluation is off.

Just because a player was offered by a high major does not automatically make him a high major prospect. It means that ONE college thought he was a high major prospect and is acting on it. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it doesn’t change the player – if the college has guessed wrong, they have guessed wrong. It happens all of the time.

It is possible that the player is better than the scouts think. But there are a lot of players every year who go to play college basketball and soon run into problems. I don’t want to paint with a broad brush, but college coaches make mistakes, too. Even Duke and UNC have had players who were offered scholarships and ended up not being able to compete at the elite level once they arrived on campus. So, let’s take a step back here. If players are sometimes incorrectly evaluated by UNC, Duke or Kentucky, doesn’t it make sense that other players can be incorrectly evaluated at hundreds of other colleges as well? If you were to ask any college coach with several years of experience, it would be rare that one would claim all of their recruits worked out as well as they had hoped.

It also explains how you have high major programs in major conferences who only have one or two elite players, but that’s an aside for another day.

The reality is that evaluating players at any level involves some risk of being wrong and a large amount of subjective work. This doesn’t end at the high school level. Even NBA teams get it wrong a lot. We all can name off bad first round picks over the years, players who someone on an NBA team thought was a big time prospect but ended up out of the league or being a bench player before long. So why would high school be any different?

When I saw Kwame Brown in high school, I thought he was a really good prospect, but was a couple of years removed from the pros at best. I thought he would be good in college, work on his game, and then probably be a first round pick. I was stunned when he was taken as the #1 pick out of high school – I did not even think he was ready to make the move to the NBA at that point. And I wasn’t alone in this – there were a lot of scouts who thought the same thing. Did Kwame Brown getting drafted at #1 suddenly make him better than we thought? I don’t like to slam Kwame, who was never a bad player, but he wasn’t a #1 lottery pick either, and Michael Jordan’s gamble on taking him was a huge, public mistake.

But in the world of college recruiting, that’s the equivalent of a lower evaluated player getting a suddenly high offer, and then his ratings go up. I’m not going to change my assessment based on recruitment. Of course, watching a player multiple times over the course of their careers is the best way to assess his talent. When Harrison Barnes arrived at UNC, he was considered the top player in the nation. But he struggled early on in his freshman year, and many fans starting calling him a bust. But they hadn’t seen enough – flash forward to today, where he’s absolutely one of the best college players and a big time pro prospect. If fans had only had the first 10 games of his freshman season to evaluate him, it wouldn’t give the whole picture.

The point is that a player is at a certain level, regardless of who has offered or not. We all know players who should have gotten DI offers but ended up playing DII, and there are DII players who ended up playing DIII and there are even DI prospects who ended up playing nowhere. So if colleges can be wrong about players who should get offers, of course they can be wrong the other way as well, offering players that won’t pan out. This isn’t news to them; they know they are taking a risk by offering any player, no matter how much of a sure thing they seem to be.

By Justin Byerly

Madison Jones, a six-foot point guard out of Ravenscroft HS in Raleigh, NC recently informed that he is getting the most interest right now from Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Seton Hall, Nebraska and Richmond.

Mike Kobani, a six-foot-nine inch forward for Caldwell Academy in the class of 2013 is averaging 17.5 points per game, 12.1 rebounds and almost 1 assist this season. He is getting interest from Coastal Carolina University, High Point University, Virginia and Villanova.

Erik Hopkins, a six-foot-four guard out of Columbia (SC) Keenan is getting some interest as of late from Western Carolina University, Wofford College, Tennessee State and Presbyterian College.

Tracy Gathings, of Ben L. Smith HS (Greensboro, NC) recently has been receiving interest from Virginia Military Institute along with Gardner-Webb. Tracy is six-foot-five and is averaging around eighteen points per game.

Sharwyn McGee of Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, was recently offered a scholarship by Jacksonville (Fla.) University. McGee is a six-foot-five forward. His strengths are rebounding, scoring the basketball, defensive pressure, great athleticism, and needs to work a little on his three-point shot.

VJ King (8th Grader) of United Faith (Charlotte) recently scored sixteen points, had two rebounds, and two assists in a win over Central Park Christian over the weekend.

AJ Clark, a five-foot-ten senior point guard out of Western Alamance HS (NC) is averaging nearly twenty-eight points per game this season to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. He is getting most of his looks from Division Two schools and a little interest from Navy. He recently scored 23 points and grabbed ten rebounds in win against Burlington Williams HS.

Qua Neal of South Rowan HS (NC) is averaging nearly twelve points per game this season and in a win over North Iredell had eighteen points and six assists with eight rebounds on Friday (1/27)

Sindarius Thornwell, one of the top players in the class of 2013 in the nation out of Lancaster HS (SC) scored twenty-one points, grabbed nine rebounds and had seven assists in a win over Spartanburg HS Friday (1/27)
He has offers from nearly every school in the SEC and ACC.

Derrick Copeland, a six-foot point guard out of Kannapolis AL Brown HS had twenty-two points, two steals and five assists on Friday.

Mike Brown, a six-foot-three guard out of West Charlotte HS who has signed with Western Carolina University, had fourteen points, ten rebounds, four steals, and six assists in a win over Mooresville HS Friday.

Kennedy Meeks, a six-foot-nine center out of West Charlotte HS scored ten points in the win Friday also. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Head Coach Roy Williams was in attendance for the big man. He holds offers from almost every major program except for Duke and North Carolina.

Maurice Howard of Saluda HS (SC) went for fifteen points and five assists in a win on Friday.

Connor Burchfield, a six-foot guard out of CarolinaPreps.com number one ranked 3-A school Concord (NC) HS had Twenty points in a win over Asheville Roberson HS on Saturday (1/28). He is getting interest from Davidson (N.Car) and others.

Darren Black, a five-ten guard out of Concord HS (NC) is getting interest from Xavier University, Pittsburgh University, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and a host of others. He went for eleven points in a win on Saturday (1/28) over Asheville Roberson HS.

Demarcus Lewis, a six-foot-three guard out of Barea HS (SC) went for fifteen points against Wade Hampton HS (SC) and fourteen points against Greenville Southside HS this past week. He is getting interest from North Carolina A&T University as of late.

Rayshawn Speas, out of North Forsyth HS is getting interest from UNC-Pembroke as of late. The class of 2012, is averaging nearly nine points, seven rebounds, and three blocks per game. He had ten points in a thriller of Asheboro HS Friday (1/27).

Darius Bryant, a six-foot-one inch guard out of Calhoun Falls Charter (SC) recently scored seventeen points in a win on Friday (1/27). He is getting little interest as of late but may be flying under the radar for some schools. His strengths are his ball handling, getting into traffic, and defense. Needs to work more on his ability to use his left hand.

Tyshun Flowers of Hickory Christian Academy (NC) recently had seven points and two assists Friday (1/27)

Cory Magwood of Wade Hampton (Varnville, SC) has been a scoring machine in his last few games. He recently scored twenty-four points, nine rebounds and four assists in a loss on Friday (1/27). Charleston Southern recently came to one of his games. The class of 2012 guard is also getting attention from Georgia Southern, Jacksonville University, High Point University, Furman University, and Gardner-Webb. He is averaging nearly twenty eight points per game this season.

Taylor McCurry of Asheville Enka HS, a six-foot-four inch forward, recently scored twenty seven points Friday (1/27) in a loss to Asheville HS. McCurry leads WNC in scoring this season at nearly twenty-nine points a game.

Deveron Roberts, of Asheville (NC) HS recently scored twenty-five points in a huge win over Asheville Enka HS in MAC Conference play. The two-sport star and quarterback for Asheville HS is getting interest from Western Carolina University, among others. One of the quickest guys I have seen in WNC this year.

Drew Combs, a five-foot-ten point guard out of Wilmington Ashley HS recently went for thirty-two points in a double-overtime loss Friday (1/27). He also poured in eight assists in the loss. He is getting interest from Lincoln Memorial (Div. II) who came in to see the game.

Curtis Webb, an all-state guard out of Dorman (SC) HS recently surpassed to the one-thousand point mark in a win over JL Mann Friday (1/27). He scored seventeen points and hit three three- point shots in the win. As of late he has been getting interest from Limestone College and a few others.

Jevon Patton, of Gastonia Highland Tach recently had twenty-five points, ten assists, seven steals, and five rebounds in a 63-61 win on Friday (1/27). And he surpassed the one-thousand point mark on. 1/24 as he went for thirty-one points in a win.

Clarence Williams of Druid Hills (Ga.) HS had nine points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal for the big man on Friday (1/27). He has been getting contact recently from Western Carolina University.

Brandon Goodwin of Norcross (Ga.) HS dropped seventeen points, had five assists, and five rebounds in a win Friday (1/27). Brandon recently was offered a scholarship by Gardner-Webb University. He also has interest from Florida Atlantic University, VCU, Tennessee, Wofford and Appalachian State University.

Diondre Pratt of Anson HS scored thirty-three points on Friday (1/27) while also grabbing five rebounds. He had twenty-four points and six rebounds on 1/14. He holds offers from Lincoln Memorial, Chowan College and Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte.

By Marcus Shockley

Photo Credit: Flikr/andypiper

It’s been a growing topic for some time, but last week when Yuri Wright, a high school football recruit who was expected to play football for the Michigan Wolverines, lost his scholarship over several things he said on Twitter, it brought the issue to the forefront in a very real way. Following the story breaking into a national recruiting tale, he was also kicked out of Don Bosco Prep School and has suddenly become the poster child for how NOT to use social media.

It’s not surprising that some recruits would run into problems; in a world where I’ve seen adults texting while driving 70 mph on a highway at night, as a culture we are still struggling to handle how to turn our electronic communication off, and more importantly, how to keep our digital mouths shut.

Social media has become an important part of the recruiting landscape, and it’s easy to point to the players who get burned or misuse it. I rely on social media to help track down recruits, coaches and current players and I see both types of use. I think the vast majority of players, even high school players, completely understand the ramifications. However, just in case, here’s a quick guide on how social media should be used by high school recruits.

1. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say in public.

You’d think this was the most obvious one, but it isn’t. Some players post just about everything that happens to them on Twitter or Facebook. There’s a fine line here; There’s a lot that can be said, even in public, that’s perfectly acceptable. The problems arises when Twitter is used to air personal grievances, opinions or information. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to obviously personal tweets or posts, but you have to remember that some fans watch and listen to everything a recruit says. When a high school recruit tweets something about a school, for example, fans try to read if the recruit is indicating he’s leaning one way or another. This isn’t entirely unexpected, because sometimes players announce their intentions over social media.

Just be careful not to blurt out anything you wouldn’t want the world to know. It’s an environment where what you say will get noticed, and not always in a good way.

2. Twitter is a broadcast platform, not a text messaging system.

Twitter is great for quick, open messages to scouts, other players or friends. For many top recruits, they often leave their original high school and play at least one year at a prep school, which means they can play national competition. It also means leaving their friends behind, or at least, some distance away. Twitter and Facebook help bridge the communication gap, so that either a player or an old friend can reach out and let each other know that they are trying to catch up. But here’s the rule: once contact is made, then the conversation needs to be taken “offline”, meaning to another type of communication, whether it’s a phone call, texting or chat. The important thing is that the whole world shouldn’t be privy to your entire conversation.

3. Watch those photos & retweets

If you retweet a racy/lurid/disgusting photo, guess what? It shows up on your profile. And that photo of you at a buddy’s apartment, where’s he’s holding up two bottles of fine spirits? That’s a huge no-no. The reality is that you have to be aware that you can get labeled as a person colleges don’t want to recruit, because it looks like you might have bad judgement.

Yuri Wright lost his scholarship to Michigan for two reasons. First, he tweeted slurs and racist comments that the school wanted no part of. Secondly, he showed a pattern of incredible lack of judgement. It’s true that someone’s online personality may not actually represent who they are, but over time bad posts and tweets paint a picture of someone, good or bad.

Coaches and programs learn that people rarely change their patterns. A player who sulked a lot and missed practices in high school will usually continue to do so in college. Make no mistake, if a college coach is interested in you, they will follow up and try to find out what type of person you are. Some coaches complain that the player’s tweets/posts don’t match the real person, and not in a good way. But you certainly don’t want to have an image of problem player before the coach has even checked. You really have to understand that EVERYTHING you say and do on your Twitter timeline is being monitored by someone, probably someone you don’t expect.

4. You don’t need to broadcast every thought.

I used to follow a college basketball player on Twitter who professed that she wanted to be a sports reporter/writer. She had contacted me about writing for us, and I was considering it. Even though we are focused on men’s basketball, of course we are looking for anyone who has good insight, and we’ve had contributions from female writers in the past. You would expect that her tweets would be similar to a lot of college players; tweets about early morning workouts, disappointing losses or frustrating college classes.

However, none of those tweets came across. Sometimes she would tweet about an NBA game or mention practice, but normally her timeline would be full of where she intended to party after class, how late she was out, and spats with other women over Twitter. Often she would erupt with a barrage of vulgarity-laced posts about her latest failed relationship, which seemed to be about once a week. Finally, I just stopped following her because it felt like she wasn’t serious about anything except getting high and arguing. I have no idea if she is as much of a train wreck as she claims to be, but for someone who wants to work in the media, she really needs to learn how to manage her image. It’s simply better to say as little as possible than saying the wrong thing.

Just remember that every Tweet is a headline; the power of social media is a great tool if used correctly, but it can and will burn you if you misuse it.

By Marcus Shockley

When watching the documentary Gunnin’ for That No. 1 Spot, directed by Adam Yauch (forever known to me as MCA of the Beastie Boys), one statement from the movie made me cringe and has stuck with me ever since. It wasn’t because I haven’t heard similar statements before, but because it so perfectly encapsulates the myth behind college basketball recruiting.

As the players are walking out on the court for the first time at the Elite 24, the emcee announces “these players will all be millionaires in a few years”. Make no mistake about it; in high profile college basketball recruiting, these players are in demand and many of the stories people think happen are true, such as the current “Player X” story on ESPN from our man Jason Jordan. This is not to say Jason’s story isn’t true. The type of things listed in his article do happen, just like the way that some big time colleges use the “unofficial visit” as a way to funnel money to a recruit. But that’s only a few cases, and the reality for the vast majority of high school basketball players is much different.

I know there are some great articles available from people who I know and recommend like Tim Ryerson of Student Athlete Word like College Recruiting Myths which break down many of the misconceptions of how high school players get noticed and recruited by colleges, and our pal Al Woods of Woods Recruiting has many articles on the subject as well. So I’m not going to delve into those aspects. What I’m going to cover are some of the myths about high school basketball players and the difference between reality and people’s perception.

1. Not all D1 athletes are going to the NBA.

There are so many basketball players who want to go to a D1 school, and it makes sense on some levels; pride in being able to say you were a D1 athlete, the possibility of more exposure for some programs, and the ability to network with former players/coaches. Players also want to show they can play against D1 talent, because D1 talent is overall closer to pro talent.

But the reality is that almost none of the Division 1 basketball players playing today have a future playing in the NBA, and very few even have a future playing overseas. So even if you land a D1 scholarship, there’s very little chance it will turn you into a lottery pick. The types of players who go from unknown to NBA picks include Jimmer Fredette, Steph Curry and Kemba Walker. In other words, players who started for schools that made the NCAA tournament, were considered possibly the best player in the nation, and had incredible performances in front of national television audiences during the NCAA tournament.

And the kids from the movie? They did all make the NBA, but two weren’t drafted until the second round, hardly equal to the brash guarantee made about their games.

Many players who could start for Division 2 programs will go to a D1 school and rarely even see the floor, because they think that they have to be D1 in order to play pro ball. John Thompson, legendary coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, used to keep a deflated basketball on his desk as a reminder that it was worthless without ’9 pounds of air’…”If you live your whole life based on nine or 10 pounds of air in the ball and your life has no other importance or significance than that, excuse me, you’re a damn fool,” he says, constantly reminding players that an education is more reliable than that 9 pounds of air.

Even all of the players on UNC, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke don’t have futures as pro players. This is not to say you shouldn’t have dreams, and yes, sometimes players do make the pros from lesser known schools. But parents and players think that D1=NBA, means millions of dollars, and they completely ignore some of their best options.

2. Not all college recruiting is sordid.

Yes, there is truth to some of the rumors and stereotypes of big time athletics. Not all players take money, but there are all of the things people hear about: runners, handlers, cash payments, “perks”, jobs for parents, jobs for handlers, and so on.

But that’s not the norm – that’s only a situation that has to be navigated for the top athletes, the ones who can help a college team compete for a national title and probably will be in the NBA before long. For the vast majority of players, college recruiting is about trying to figure out where they can get a scholarship, where they will see the most playing time, where they will feel comfortable and what type of degree they can get while in school.

For most colleges, they don’t have million dollar budgets and the coaches are certainly not flying around the country in private jets. For many college coaches, they are desperately looking for athletes who can help them win, and who can actually get into, and stay in, school. A lot of players and parents have a complete misconception about the college recruiting process – they think if only their child were to get seen by the right college, they’d get offered right away. The reality is that most players have to work like crazy to get even a single offer from any school. That is a far cry from the glamour of the top athletes and top programs.

3. You cannot “talk” or “promote” a player into a scholarship.

I love grassroots basketball. I love driving way out into the middle of nowhere, finding my way to a gym in the dark, walking in and suddenly seeing a 6’8″ kid no one has ever heard of who can really play. But there are parents – and media – who constantly promote players beyond their abilities.

I don’t scout players in the sixth grade. No serious scout would. Sure, you can keep an eye on him if he looks like he has skill, but beyond that it’s pointless.

I’m not saying parents shouldn’t communicate how their child is doing, but the reality is that the only things that will get a player into college on an athletic scholarship is his ability and his grades, and he has to be able to play against other big time players. Nothing else. So when you tell everyone who will listen that Big State U and Giant University are all recruiting your kid, honestly, it’s obvious when that’s a line being tossed around in hopes of generating false interest.

And I love highlight films and mixtapes, after all, I’m a huge basketball fan. But a mixtape is not a scouting video, because every mixtape makes the players look like NBA all-stars. You also have to remember that any highlight video has two components: the player being featured and the competition of the event. There have been many times I’ve seen player video and the kid looks like a superstar, shooting from outside, passing, dunking, dominating. Often, seeing the player in person is a very different story.

A.J. Hammons, a true center committed to play his college basketball at Purdue, chatted with us a little about some of the concepts used in playing the post. Hammons is playing his senior high school season for Oak Hill.

You can read our scouting report on Hammons here.

By Justin Byerly

Editor’s Note: Did you miss part one and two of this series? Go read part one or part two now. We’ll wait.

Keyshawn Woods 6’2″ SG 175 2014 Gaston Day (NC)
Woods is a high scoring shooting guard who averaged nearly 22 points a game last season as a freshman. He informed me via text message that he has already been offered a scholarship by The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Wichita State University. He also said “my dream school would be The University of North Carlolina”. Keyshawn should be considered one of the top 40 players in the country in the class of 2014. Keyshawn gets to the basket with a nice cross-over, and hesitation. He always has his head up and makes the right passes. I had him for only one turnover in a game against Asheville Christian Academy over the weekend and he scored 22 points on a variety of three-pointers, fast break lay-ups, and jump-shots. He has a vertical of about 34-35 inches and can get off the floor in a hurry. High basketball IQ for a kid who is just in his second year of high school.

Jevon Thomas 6’1″ 180 PG 2012 Quality Education Academy (NC)
Thomas has already signed to play college basketball at Dayton (OH) University after decomitting from St. Johns University while getting interest from Seton Hall University, Penn State University, Villanova University and Towson University. Originally from New York City, Jevon is ranked as the 6th best prospect in North Carolina by ESPN.com and the 22nd best point guard in the country. He has a great cross-over and has great speed, he should really thrive in the Dayton University system.

Jordan Robinson 6’9″ 240 C 2014 Quality Education Academy (NC)
Robinson had great hands for a big man, posseses a nice game around the post and can get alot of rebounds. He has been offered by The University of Arizona, UNC-Charlotte, and Seton Hall University according to Quality Education Academy Head Coach Issac Pitts. He played AAU basketball with loaded CIA Bounce out of Canada.

Brandon Bolden 6’11″ 200 C 2012 Quality Education Academy (NC)
The Georgetown signee, is originally from Sumter, SC and is considered one of the top twenty centers in the country by many publications. The long (7’3 wing-span) and slender (could use some bulking up) Bolden held offers from The University of Georgia, UVa, Baylor University, University of Florida and Virginia Tech.

Ke’Shun Sherrill 5’10″ 165 PG 2012 West Rowan HS (NC)
Annually one of the top teams in the state of North Carolina, West Rowan has another Sherrill to keep that tradition alive. The long list of the Sherrills’ include Scooter (former NC State player), KJ (plays for UNC-Charlotte) and KJ Sherrill a football an basketball star in his own right at West Rowan. Now its Keshun, a speedy 5’10 PG with his lone offer coming from Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC. He also informed me that he is gaining interest from Virginia Military Institute and North Carolina A&T. Keshun averaged 21.1 points a game last season for West Rowan.
Note: Ke’Shun played in the Basketball Elite Southeast Summer Showcase in 2011 and had a solid showing.

*Rodney Purvis 6’3″ 205 PG/SG 2012 Upper Room Christian (NC)
The top ranked player in North Carolina, Purvis has signed to play basketball at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. He possesses a knack at getting to the rim with ease, elecrtifying dunks and great cross-over that allows him to get free for the jumper or create space for a drive to the basket. He passes the ball extremely well and always sees the whole court. Purvis, who was once committed to the Univserity of Louisville and Rick Pitino also held offers from nearly every major Division One school in the country.

Dominique Williams 6’7″ 208 F 2012 Quality Education Academy (NC)
The Mallard Creek (Charlotte) transfer is getting interest from UNC-Charlotte, Wingate University, North Carolina Central University, and Richmond (VA) University. He was a member of The Charlotte Observer’s IMECK 4-A Second Team last season. Dominique averaged nearly 14 points per game last season at Mallard Creek.

Mike Brown 6’3″ 180 G 2012 West Charlotte HS (NC)
The Western Carolina University commitment is one of the top players returning for the NCHSAA 4-A State Championship Lions team. The 5th Championship in the past 25 years. He also had interest from Jacksonville (FL) University and Winthrop (SC) University. Brown was voted team MVP after the final game at the state championship. West Charlotte will be a favorite to try to re-peat as state champs as they did in 91-92.

BJ Gladden 6’5″ 180 G 2013 (formally of Olympic HS Charlotte, transferring to Kennedy Charter)
Gladden is a human highlight reel, he is an explosive dunker and is one of the top juniors in North Carolina. His days at Olympic HS are over for this year because of a discrepancy in where he lived and rumors are floating around that the high-flyer may be heading to Kennedy Charter School, also in Charlotte and join another strong team there. Although when reached by phone Gladden stated “not for sure yet” regarding if he was headed there. Gladden is getting interest from Miami University and UNC-Charlotte. He averaged close to 9 points per game before the suspension was handed down last Thursday. Olympic went on to win Friday night against a talented Myers Park HS (Charlotte) by over twenty points. Gladden is a Division One prospect and willonly be getting more attention as the season progresses wherever he is enrolled to play basketball at.

JaKeem Yates 6’8″ 190 F 2013 West Charlotte HS (NC)
Yates informed me that UNC-Wilmington offered him a scholarship back at the end of September and UNC-Greensboro offered him a few weeks before. Auburn recently offered the West Charlotte product who transfered from Mallard Creek last year. Yates is a solid rebounder and can finish in the post with his size.

Julius Hamilton 6’3″ 235 2013 Kennedy Charter School (NC)
The West Mecklenburg HS transfer is a big-bodied guard who uses his strength and size to take over his opponent and score or rebound. He is getting interest from some mid-majors right now but should gain more as the season goes on. Averages around 13-14 points per game for one of Charlotte’s most talented teams. One of five Division One prospects for Kennedy Charter.

Shaun Stewart 6’1″ 180 G 2012 Sun Valley HS (NC)
Point guard Stewart averaged nearly 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists per game last season for Sun Valley. He is gaining the most interest right now from Radford University, Lincoln Memorial University, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Newberry College, Mt. Olive and Wingate University. He has been offered a scholarship by Newberry, Lincoln Memorial, and Mt. Olive. So far this season, in a loss to East Mecklenburg by five points, Stewart scored 24 points.

Thaxter Spruill 6’6″ 215 F/C 2014 Clinton HS (NC)
The long and athletic Spruill should end up being one of the most talented sophomores in North Carolina and even the country. Has a long wingspan that makes it tough for opposing teams to make the right pass or shot. He has been getting calls requesting information on him from The University of North Carolina according to Dwight Miller.
Note: Thaxter recently spoke with Basketball Elite and gave us the lowdown on what he’s working on right now.

Staff Reports

You might have seen our mention of Madison Jones last week, in our continuing series on the top high school basketball players in North and South Carolina for 2011-12 (Part 2), and of course, seeing is believing.

Here’s the official Madison Jones highlight mixtape from our good friends at M2 Productions:

By Justin Byerly

Editor’s Note: Did you miss part one of this series? Go read it now. We’ll wait.

J.T. Miller shows off his explosiveness with a dunk at the Adidas Phenom 150

J.T. Miller 6’3 2012 Clinton HS (NC)
Miller averaged twenty three points per game last season at NCHSAA 2-A Clinton HS, and recorded over seventy-five dunks in his junior season. He had been recieving interest from coaches at UTEP, ECU, Virginia Tech, Miami, NC State, Oklahoma, Gerogia Tech, Wake Forest, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Wilmington, American University, The Citadel, Western Carolina, and others before July 2011 according to his father Dwight Miller. In May 2011, JT suffered a knee injury at the Bob Gibbons Tournament. He is now back to one-hundred percent , and is starting to get interest back from coaches who may have backed off (because of the injury) including Virginia Tech, University of Miami, and VCU who have also recently watched Miller work out. Clinton HS is now coached by Levi Beckwith, the former coach at Word of God in Raleigh, NC.

Shannon Hale 6’8 215 2013 Christ School (NC)
The Science Hill (TN) transfer and Alabama commit Hale, is a very strong post player and gets plenty of rebounds. I saw him play in the Christ School Tip Off Tournament in Asheville (NC) against NCISAA power Greensboro Day (NC) which Hale scored twenty-two points. Hale showed above-average athlesticism and some speed as he gets up and down the court in a hurry for a big guy. He is ranked by many publications as a top seventy-five recruit for the 2013 class.

Madison Jones 6’1 170 2012 Ravenscroft HS (NC)
Jones has offers from American University, Seton Hall University, North Carolina Central University, East Carolina University and Georgia Southern University. Last season Jones along with Anton Gill (more on Gill later) led Ravensvroft to a 23-4 record. He is getting recruited the most by American University, Seton Hall University and East Carolina University.

Jordan Hanner 5’10 175 2012 Southwest Guilford HS (NC)
Hanner averaged 18.5 points per game last season as a junior and led the Cowboys to a 22-6 record. He informed me the only school really showing interest in him for basketball is Mount Olive. Southwest Guilford competes in the 4-A Piedmont Triad COnference.

Jarvis Haywood 6’3 195 2012 Harding HS (NC)
The former Winthrop commit has informed me that he is setting up visits to College of Charleston, Appalachian State University, and Hampton University. Haywood played last season at the now closed Waddell High School in Charlotte (NC) and averaged 22.2 points per game on a squad that finished 18-11. He has started the 2011-2012 season strong with a 23 point, 10 rebound and 7 assists against Hopewell HS Charlotte (NC) in a 25 point win. The 6’4 175lb guard is ranked as the 55th best shooting guard prospect in the country by ESPN.com.

Stavian Allen 6’7 2014 Word of God (NC)
The long and very athletic Allen, transferred to Word of God after playing at Cary High School and re-classified to the class of 2014. Allen shows great ball-handling skills for a player of his size and gets to the basket with ease. He informed me that he is getting the most interest from Bucknell right now along with UNC-Charlotte, West Virginia University and VCU are showing him a little interest and have been in contact with his AAU coach. He needs to add some muscle and weight but he is only a sophomore, so he has a few years.

Josh Newkirk 6’1 175 2013 Word of God (NC)
One of the quickest cross-overs you will see this year comes from Newkirk. Hailing from the same high school as current Washington Wizard John Wall and NC State star freshman CJ Leslie, Newkirk is ranked by ESPN.com as one of the top ten players in North Carolina in the class of 2013 and the 17th best overall point guard in the country. He let me know that he has offers from University of Arizona, Oklahoma State University, Indiana University, North Carolina State University, Appalachian State University and The University of Tennessee. Josh averaged close to 15 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds a game last season as a sophomore. He also informed me that he is getting interest from Miami University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but has not been offered a scholarship yet by either school.

Jevon Patton 5’9 170 2013 Highland Tech (NC)
Smooth-shooting Jevon Patton averaged 17 points, nearly 6 assists and 6 rebounds a game last season for Highland Tech, leading them to a (17-9) record in the Piedmont 1-A/2-A conference. He is starting to gain some interest from College of Charleston, Clemson University, and The University of South Carolina. Patton’s father Jody is an assistant coach with Highland Tech and was a three-year all conference player at Coker (SC).

Trey Chapman 6’6 185 2013 Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC)
The Greensboro (NC) Day School transfer, Chapman is a long and very athletic wing for Kevin Gatlin’s WCA squad this year that also includes 6’4 Theo Pinson (one of the top prospects in 2014) and Florida State recruit 6’6 Montay Brandon. He informed me via text message that he has two Division One offers, from The University of Pennsylvania and Jacksonville (FL) University. He also mentioned that he is receiving “a little interest from Appalachian State University, Virginia Commonwealth University (2011 NCAA Final Four participant), Liberty University, Stanford University, and East Carolina University”.

Austin Dasent 6’1 185 2014 Olympic HS Charlotte (NC)
Dasent picked up his first offer a month ago from Mercer University, and is getting interest from Clemson University, The University of South Carolina, and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He mentioned to Alex Kline of TheRecruitScoop.com that UNC-Charlotte and South Carolina are his very early top two.

Editor’s Note: Are you wondering why we missed some players? Go read part one now. Then come back and read parts 3,4 and 5 when we publish them.

Staff Reports

We’ve scouted William Walker a couple of times in the recent past (see the reports here and here), and we wanted to show more of the cerebral point guard who has an easy knack for scoring. We expect Williams to slowly become more known as people begin to realize how effective he can be on the court.

William Walker (PG, 5’11″, 2014)

Staff Reports

Reggie Dillard (SG, 6’2″, 2013) attended the CP3 elite skills camp over the summer and we caught up with him to get his thoughts on the event as well as his current recruiting situation.