Oak Hill basketball
Oak Hill has struggled – and fallen – since New Year’s. Photo Source: 247sports.com

By Marcus Shockley

This national high school basketball ranking combines multiple available polls for a period of time into a single poll, and creates a ranking for each team based on their average ranking, number of times they are ranked in the various polls, the highest ranking that teams has in those polls and the position ranking out of all ranked teams for the period. Read more about today’s cumulative ranking below.

School Location High AVG Qty TrueRank™
1. Findlay Prep Henderson,NV 1 1 4 31.500
2. Montverde Academy Montverde,FL 2 2 4 30.000
3. Lone Peak HS West Highland,UT 3 3 4 28.250
4. Simeon HS Chicago,IL 3 4 4 26.500
5. Prime Prep Academy Dallas,TX 4 6 4 24.250
6. St. Benedict Prep Newark,NJ 5 6 4 24.000
7. La Lumiere School La Porte,IN 6 8 4 21.500
8. Huntington Prep Huntington,WV 6 9 4 19.750
9. Whitney Young Magnet HS Chicago,IL 7 9 4 19.750
10. Poly HS Long Beach,CA 7 10 4 18.250
11. St. Anthony HS Jersey City,NJ 7 10 4 18.000
12. Mater Dei HS Santa Ana,CA 5 11 4 17.250
14. Bishop Montgomery Torrance,CA 10 12 4 15.000
13. Desoto HS Dallas,TX 9 12 4 15.000
15. Lake Oswego HS Lake Oswego,OR 11 14 4 12.000
16. Iowa City West HS Iowa City,IA 14 15 4 10.000
17. Pershing HS Detroit,MI 15 18 4 6.000
18. Midwest City HS Midwest City,OK 13 19 4 5.250
19. Germantown HS Germantown,WI 17 19 4 4.500
20. Blanche Ely HS Pompano Beach,FL 18 19 4 4.500
21. Chester HS Chester,PA 22 23 4 -2.000
22. Olympic HS Charlotte,NC 18 18 2 -3.500
23. Oak Hill Academy Mouth of Wilson,VA 23 25 4 -4.500
24. Bishop Gorman HS Las Vegas,NV 18 19 2 -5.000
25. Blue Valley Northwest HS Overland Park,KS 19 22 2 -9.500
26. Irmo Columbia,SC 21 23 2 -12.500
27. Roosevelt HS Washington,DC 23 23 2 -13.500
28. Northland HS Columbus,OH 22 24 2 -14.500
29. Gonzaga HS Washington,DC 25 26 2 -19.000
30. Miller Grove HS Lithonia,GA 22 22 1 -33.000

Notes:
Still not change at the top of the poll but th various polls can’t agree on several teams, such as Pershing, Bishop Montgomery, Prime Prep and La Lumiere. But the biggest consensus is Oak Hill, which has fallen rapidly and is in danger of dropping out of the top 30 entirely.

This week’s poll includes four sources: Hoopniks, ESPN, USA Today and PrepNation. MaxPreps also released polls during this period but I haven’t included them, due to the fact that they segment private academies from public high schools. I am not sure how, or if, I will incorporate their rankings back into the cumulative rankings.

Finally: In the poll listing, the ‘high’ value represents the highest ranking in any poll that team received during the ranking period.
‘Qty’ represents how many polls they were ranked in. ‘AVG’ represents their average ranking in all polls where they were ranked.

Want to know more? You can follow Marcus Shockley on Twitter, right this second.

TrueRank is ™ and © 2013 Neptune Media Group, LLC.


Photo Source: Orlando Sentinel

By James Blackburn

Game Scouted: Florida State @ Wake Forest

Wake Wins 71-46

Box Score

Michael Snaer (6’5”, G, SR)

Stats

36 min, 4-13 FG, 1-5 3pt, 4-5 FT, 5 reb, 2 assists, 3 TO, 2 steals, 13 TP

Strengths
Florida State struggled to score the ball today as they came into today’s game winners of 2 of their last 3. Snaer, however, has not struggled to score the ball. Although he did struggle shooting today, he still led FSU in scoring and also helped on the boards, grabbing 5 rebounds. Snaer is a solid all-around scorer, not just a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. He uses his size and strength to score and create space off the bounce. Also showed the ability to change speeds and directions off the dribble drive-Had several creative finishes at the rim. Doesn’t waste his dribbles or over dribble. Everything he does is with a purpose.  Michael is a good shooter off the catch and can also shoot it off the dribble using on the ball and off the ball screens very effectively as he does a great job of moving off the ball and setting his man up. He has good shooting mechanics and shoots a straight ball. Terrific FT shooter- good mechanics, excellent rotation and arc. Is shooting over 80% from the line this season.

Unselfish player who is willing and able to play within the system-team player. I was impressed with his passing ability and ability to see the floor in the half-court off the dribble drive.

Solid defender who does a nice job of staying between his man and the basket and is in the right position to help on the drive- jumps to the ball. Always aware of where his man is and where the ball is. Plays just as hard on the defensive side of the ball as he does on the offensive side.

Snaer has a high basketball IQ and good court instincts. I like the fact that he played hard even when his team was losing- competed on the defensive end and kept a positive attitude. He is the vocal leader on the floor- talks and communicates. Huddles the players together and an extension of the coach on the floor. Great poise- doesn’t get rattled, even when his team is losing.

Weaknesses
Struggled to score over longer and more athletic defenders. Lack of athleticism and speed is a concern. Got his shot blocked more then once. His ball handling isn’t bad for being a 2G, but he didn’t look extremely comfortable handling the ball with pressure.

I thought he should have been more aggressive looking for his shot and to score this game, especially in the first half. I don’t see him being a big scoring threat at the next level. I question whether his jump shot is NBA level at this point or if he can hit the NBA three. Just didn’t do anything this game to make you say Wow! Doesn’t do any one thing extremely well or anything that is NBA level.

Overview
The one word to describe his game is solid. He doesn’t do anything really flashy- plays in the system and does not force the issue. He understands the game and knows his limitations. He has had an excellent career and has already surpassed 1,000 career pts earlier in the year.

Came into today’s game ranked first in the ACC in game-winning, buzzer-beating shots, fifth in FT %, fifth in 3pt % (39%), and 12th in scoring (13.9 ppg).

All-though some draft websites have him pegged as a second round pick in this years draft, I see him more as a D-League guy, who goes undrafted. He would be a good option for the right team for a 10-day call-up. He would be a true professional in my opinion and you know he will work hard and not complain. Even though he struggled shooting the 3 today, he has a nice stroke and could become a corner three specialist who also works hard on the defensive end.

James Blackburn is the Director of Scouting for Basketball Elite and shares his reports with several NBA teams. You can follow James on Twitter right this second.

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Duke forward Mason Plumlee as itsOscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 10. The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 19 this season.

Plumlee

As the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, Plumlee was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week.

Plumlee, a 6-11 senior from Warsaw, Ind., averaged 24.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks while leading the Blue Devils to conference wins over N.C. State and Boston College. For the week, he was 15-22 from the field and 19-26 from the free throw line in the two games.

Last Thursday, Plumlee opened the week with 30 points and nine rebounds in a 98-85 win over N.C. State. In Sunday’s 62-61 come-from-behind win at Boston College, Plumlee recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds and had several key plays at the end of the game, including a blocked shot and the game-winning free throw with 24 seconds remaining.

This is the fourth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. The weekly Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week will be considered for the Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list, which will be released at mid-season.

Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player.

Oscar Robertson TrophyAt the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by Aflac will be presented by its namesake, Oscar Robertson, at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on April 15, 2013, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. TheHenry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.

Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 32nd season, bigger and better in 2012-13. Blue Ribbon – long-known as “The Bible of College Basketball” – gives its readers the most thorough, up-to-date and timely evaluations of every Division I team in the country. For more information about Blue Ribbon Yearbooks, visit blueribbonyearbookonline.com.

2012-13 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
• Week of Dec. 9: Brandon Paul, Illinois (Big Ten Conference)
• Week of Dec. 16: Doug McDermott, Creighton (Missouri Valley Conference)
• Week of Dec. 23: Victor Rudd, South Florida (Big East Conference)
• Week of Dec. 30: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA (Pac-12 Conference)
• Week of Jan. 6: Trey Burke, Michigan (Big Ten Conference)
• Week of Jan. 13: Elston Turner, Texas A&M (Southeastern Conference)
• Week of Jan. 20: Roosevelt Jones, Butler (Atlantic 10 Conference)
• Week of Jan. 27: Darrun Hilliard, Villanova (Big East Conference)
• Week of Feb. 3: Shane Larkin, Miami (Atlantic Coast Conference)
• Week of Feb. 10: Mason Plumlee, Duke (Atlantic Coast Conference)

Winston-Salem Prep West Stokes basketball

NetCastSports Network will be broadcasting high school basketball on Tuesday when Winston-Salem Prep hosts West Stokes HS (NC). NCSN is broadcasting this game to their monthly subscribers, but is offering 50 passes for people to watch the game for free.

Here’s all you have to do:

Sign up for the free NCSN mailing list at this link.

People who sign up before 1 pm ET on Tuesday will be sent a special code to enter and watch the game live at 7:30 PM ET, ad-free.

Watch the game live at this link.

Monthly subscribers can find their link to watch the game at netcastsports.com/Schedule/

That’s all there is to it!

Keith Gatlin knows all about basketball talent, having played at Maryland with Len Bias and had a pro career of his own in Europe. Now he shepherds young phenoms who are being recruited by the most major programs in the nation, and in today’s interview, he discusses how they are making it work. This interview came during postgame wrap up after Gatlin’s Wesleyan Trojans downed conference rival Greensboro Day.

St. Anthony basketball
St. Anthony’s has risen across all of the rankings. Photo Source: NJ.com

By Marcus Shockley

This national high school basketball ranking combines multiple available polls for a period of time into a single poll, and creates a ranking for each team based on their average ranking, number of times they are ranked in the various polls, the highest ranking that teams has in those polls and the position ranking out of all ranked teams for the period. Read more about today’s cumulative ranking below.

School Location High AVG Qty TrueRank™
1. Findlay Prep Henderson,NV 1 1 4 32.500
2. Montverde Academy Montverde,FL 2 2 4 31.000
3. Lone Peak HS West Highland,UT 3 3 4 29.250
4. Simeon HS Chicago,IL 3 4 4 27.500
5. Prime Prep Academy Dallas,TX 4 6 4 25.250
6. St. Benedict Prep Newark,NJ 5 6 4 25.000
7. La Lumiere School La Porte,IN 6 8 4 22.500
8. Whitney Young Magnet HS Chicago,IL 7 8 4 21.500
9. Huntington Prep Huntington,WV 6 9 4 20.750
10. St. Anthony HS Jersey City,NJ 7 10 4 19.250
11. Poly HS Long Beach,CA 7 10 4 19.000
12. Mater Dei HS Santa Ana,CA 5 11 4 18.250
13. Desoto HS Dallas,TX 9 12 4 16.000
14. Bishop Montgomery Torrance,CA 11 13 4 15.000
15. Lake Oswego HS Lake Oswego,OR 12 15 4 11.500
16. Oak Hill Academy Mouth of Wilson,VA 14 15 4 11.250
17. Iowa City West HS Iowa City,IA 14 16 4 10.250
18. Midwest City HS Midwest City,OK 13 20 4 5.000
19. Pershing HS Detroit,MI 16 20 4 4.750
20. Germantown HS Germantown,WI 17 20 4 4.250
21. Blanche Ely HS Pompano Beach,FL 19 20 4 4.000
22. Gonzaga HS Washington,DC 14 23 3 -1.333
23. Olympic HS Charlotte,NC 19 19 2 -4.500
24. Arlington Country Day Jacksonville,FL 21 24 3 -5.333
25. Bishop Gorman HS Las Vegas,NV 19 20 2 -6.000
26. Blue Valley Northwest HS Overland Park,KS 20 22 2 -9.500
27. Chester HS Chester,PA 23 24 2 -14.000
28. Irmo Columbia,SC 23 25 2 -15.000
29. Northland HS Columbus,OH 24 26 2 -17.500
30. Carmel HS Carmel,IN 22 22 1 -32.000

Notes:
No change in this week’s top two, with Findlay and Montverde locking those positions down. But Prime Prep has finally started getting some recognition, ranking as high as 4th and averaging at 5th in this week’s cumulative poll. Simeon has exploded back up into the rankings with a healthy Jabari Parker, Huntington Prep and Oak Hill continue to languish, and Arlington Country Day works it’s way back up a few more spots.

This week’s poll includes four sources: Hoopniks, ESPN, USA Today and PrepNation. MaxPreps also released polls during this period but I haven’t included them, due to the fact that they segment private academies from public high schools. I am not sure how, or if, I will incorporate their rankings back into the cumulative rankings.

Finally: In the poll listing, the ‘high’ value represents the highest ranking in any poll that team received during the ranking period.
‘Qty’ represents how many polls they were ranked in. ‘AVG’ represents their average ranking in all polls where they were ranked.

Want to know more? You can follow Marcus Shockley on Twitter, right this second.

TrueRank is ™ and © 2013 Neptune Media Group, LLC.

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Miami guard Shane Larkin as itsOscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 3. The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and will be handed out each Tuesday through Feb. 19 this season.

Larkin

As the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, Larkin was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week.

Larkin, a 5-11 sophomore from Orlando, Fla., averaged 19.0 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 steals, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 38.5 minutes for the Hurricanes, who scored a pair of road conference wins to climb to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll. Larkin hit 60.9 percent (14-23) from the field, including 7-15 (.467) from 3-point range. In a 73-64 win at Virginia Tech last Wednesday, he scored 25 points, hitting a career-high five 3-pointers. Then, on Saturday at No. 19 N.C. State, Larkin had five steals and five assists while pulling down three rebounds. He scored 13 points in the 79-78 win.

This is the fourth season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. The weekly Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week will be considered for the Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list, which will be released at mid-season.

Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player.

Oscar Robertson TrophyAt the conclusion of the regular season, the USBWA will name finalists for the award, which is voted on by the entire membership. The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by Aflac will be presented by its namesake, Oscar Robertson, at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on April 15, 2013, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. TheHenry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and the Oscar Robertson Trophy, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.

Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, the most comprehensive college basketball publication in the world, returns for its 32nd season, bigger and better in 2012-13. Blue Ribbon – long-known as “The Bible of College Basketball” – gives its readers the most thorough, up-to-date and timely evaluations of every Division I team in the country. For more information about Blue Ribbon Yearbooks, visit blueribbonyearbookonline.com.

2012-13 Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week
• Week of Dec. 9: Brandon Paul, Illinois (Big Ten Conference)
• Week of Dec. 16: Doug McDermott, Creighton (Missouri Valley Conference)
• Week of Dec. 23: Victor Rudd, South Florida (Big East Conference)
• Week of Dec. 30: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA (Pac-12 Conference)
• Week of Jan. 6: Trey Burke, Michigan (Big Ten Conference)
• Week of Jan. 13: Elston Turner, Texas A&M (Southeastern Conference)
• Week of Jan. 20: Roosevelt Jones, Butler (Atlantic 10 Conference)
• Week of Jan. 27: Darrun Hilliard, Villanova (Big East Conference)
• Week of Feb. 3: Shane Larkin, Miami (Atlantic Coast Conference)

Tickets for the sold-out rematch between Greensboro Day and Wesleyan will be impossible to come by, but you can still see the game. NetCast Sports Network will be broadcasting the game online at this link.

This game will feature several future collegiate players as well as some of the top basketball prospects in the nation, including Christian Hairston (SF, 6’7, ’13) of Greensboro Day who has signed with Furman and his teammate Reggie Dillard (SG, 6’3, ’13) who has signed with Presbyterian.

Greensboro Day has several other solid collegiate recruits such as Reed Lucas (SG, 6’4, 2013) which helped them remain undefeated until last week’s loss to Shannon Hale-led Christ School.

Theo Pinson Wesleyan

Wesleyan has guard JaQuel Richmond (PG, 6’1, ’14) who has offers from Indiana and Ohio State, Theo Pinson (SG/SF, 6’6, ’14) who has offers from North Carolina and Duke, Donovan Gilmore (SF/PF, 6’7, ’14) who has offers from several schools including College of Charleston, Trey Mitchell (SF, 6’7, 2013), a VMI commit and one of the top freshman in the nation, Harry Giles (SF, 6’8′, ’16) who has interest from Duke, UNC, NC State and Wake Forest.

Watch the game at this link, game time is 7 PM ET on February 5.

NetCast Sports broadcasts multiple games during the high school and AAU season, and while monthly subscribers will automatically have access to the game, NCSN has made available ‘day passes’ at a discounted price of $1.99.

Seth Curry Duke

By James Blackburn

Game Scouted: Duke @ Wake Forest

Duke Wins 75-70

Box Score

Seth Curry (6’2”, G, SR)

Stats
7-17 FG, 1-6 3 pt FG, 6-7 FT, 2 reb, 2 assist, 1 TO, 1 blk, 21 TP

Strengths
Came out and really impacted the game on the defensive end, which I did not expect. Defended well overall this game, as he was active in the passing lanes, took some charges as the help defender, moved his feet, and even blocked a jump shot. Did a decent job of staying in front of C.J. Harris for Wake and contesting shots (C.J. was not 100% tonight and looked hampered with the goggles he has been wearing after an eye injury sustained against NC State). Most of Curry’s defensive contributions did not show up in the box score tonight, but he held C.J. to 4-12 shooting from the field and was active. Did not take any plays off on that end of the floor tonight.

Offensively, he was looking for his shot early on. He showed the ability to create his own shot by pulling up on the perimeter and had several drives to the basket as well, that he finished with lay-ups. Quick first step, better then I had thought coming in. Tremendous overall shooter, who is shooting better then 40 % from the field and from three, and is a plus 80% FT shooter for his career. Has a great release, rotation, follow through, he squares up nicely and is on balance and he can get it off against good defense with a quick release and by shooting the ball in rhythm. He showed he could hit shots from catch and shoot situations, coming off screens, off the dribble, and with feet set. When he misses, he follows his shot, and his misses are usually straight and off the back of the rim. Not just a 3 point shooter- hit several Rip Hamilton like mid range pull-ups from pin-down screens. Although he didn’t hit his first 3 until 2:45 remaining in the game after missing his previous 5 attempts from deep, he had the confidence to hit a huge 3 to put his team ahead at a critical part of the game.

Wouldn’t classify him as a playmaker, but he did show nice touch on an alley-oop pass to Plumlee when help came on a drive to the basket. Solid frame- looks bigger in the arms then the last year- is stronger.

Weaknesses
Although it was not a big problem for Curry in this game, the fact that he is an under-the-rim type player with average athleticism at best, is going to hurt his ability to finish inside at the next level, similarly to what Duke alum Austin Rivers is experiencing now. He needs to improve his ball handling skills overall, is not capable at this point to advance the ball with pressure defense. Although he is a decent passer, he is not is not a PG and is not a playmaker, needs to develop in both of these areas. Questions then arise about what position he will play and defend at the next level.

Defensively he is content to switch all off the ball screens, which leads to him having to guard a bigger player- not going to work at next level. He did a decent job of staying in front of C.J. Harris this game, but C.J. was clearly not 100 % and I question his ability to defend NBA caliber PG’s.

Struggled shooting the three ball this game-missing his first 5 attempts from beyond the arc, but is a good shooter who Wake had to respect the entire game.

Overview
Curry struggled with his 3-point shot this game, but he played very well overall in my opinion, and was able to show off other parts of his game besides shooting because the Wake defenders ran him off the line. Played well despite suffering an ankle injury a couple weeks back against NC State. Curry did a solid job on the defensive end and his mistakes were minimal. Is having a career best year at Duke, averaging 16 ppg, which is second on team in scoring, and has helped Duke to 18-2 record. I believe he would be a solid pick for a team late in the second round. He will have trouble defending quicker PG’s and bigger SG’s but at worst he could be a knock down set shooter, and nearly every team could use one of those.

Although Curry is an undersized shooting guard with average speed and athleticism, all legit NBA concerns, he does bring consistent perimeter shooting, he comes from a good program, and he is going to work hard to improve every year, just like his brother did. He is a player you don’t have to worry about, as he is a high character guy, comes from a great family, and had a solid, consistent career for Duke for the past couple of years, after shining at Liberty as a freshman.

James Blackburn is the Director of Scouting for Basketball Elite and shares his reports with several NBA teams. You can follow James on Twitter right this second.