Will All-Ohio live up to its rep?
With the July evaluation period days away from beginning, let's look at five things of interest to follow during the recruiting period:
1. College coaches and players (and recruiting analysts) criss-crossing the country
If you happen to be traveling through an airport this summer and see a bunch of young, tall boys with matching sweatsuits, sneakers and travel bags, there's is a good chance that they may be traveling to Cincinnati, Augusta, Las Vegas, Orlando, Dallas, Portland, Phoenix and many points in between. Summer travel teams begin the nomadic summer grind of traveling the country and college coaches begin the annual pilgrimage of flying across the country in order to see and be seen. You can follow the action all summer long by checking in with ESPN.com's recaps and recruiting updates as we will be at all the major events evaluating the nations talent.
2. Which of the elite teams will be the cream of the crop?
Which team is the best travel team program is always a debate that is hard to settle. Is it the team with the most high-level players or is it the team that wins the most often on the summer circuit. The sneaker companies invest a sizable amount in the elite club teams and some programs are able to put together talent that most Division I teams would covet. The following are just a few of the teams that are expected to excel in the summer events.
• All Ohio Red: This year's squad is lead by Top 5 talent Jared Sullinger (Columbus, Ohio/Northland; Ohio State), Adreian Payne (Dayton, Ohio/Jefferson Township), Jordan Sibert (Cincinnati/Princeton; Ohio State), Juwan Staten ((Dayton, Ohio/Oak Hill Academy; Dayton), and J.D Weatherspoon (Columbus, Ohio/Northland). They have already won the Gym Rats/Spiece Run-N-Slam All-Star Classic and the Boo Williams Invitational. They are an organized group that is always in the hunt at every tournament they compete in.
• Boo Williams Summer League: Always one of the best teams on the summer circuit, BWSL is usually loaded with talent and advance deep into every tournament. This year's edition is lead by Andre Dawkins (Chesapeake, Va./Atlantic Shores Christian School; Duke) Kendall Marshall (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell; North Carolina), Travis McKie (Richmond, Va./Richmond Community), , Dimitri Batten (Newport News, Va./Heritage; Old Dominion), and James McAdoo (Norfolk, Va.).
• California Supreme: This team plays well together and continues to play deep into every tournament they play in. They won the Double Pump Tournament and The Nike Memorial Day Classic while finishing second at Rumble in the Bronx. They are led by Tyler Lamb (Santa Ana, Calif/Mater Dei; UCLA), Gary Franklin, Jr. (Santa Ana, Calif/Mater Dei), Keala King (Compton, Calif./Dominguez), and Kevin Johnson (Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra).
• Seattle Rotary: This group won the Rose City Classic and features one of the best inside-out tandems in mammoth center Joshua Smith (Covington, Wash./Kent) and 2011 power guard Tony Wroten, Jr. (Seattle/Garfield).
• NY Gauchos: The scrappy Gauchos won the King James Tournament and have represented New York well in every tournament they have played in. Doran Lamb (Uncommitted) and Rod Odom (Uncommitted) will lead this group during the summer.
• Mac Irvin Fire: This group represents The Windy City and are always as athletic and talented as any team they play against. This year's team is led by Jereme Richmond (Waukegan, Ill.; Illinois) and Myles Leonard (Robinson, Ill.; Illinois).
• Team Final: This team has already established themselves as on of the best teams of the summer winning the Bob Gibbon's TOC, the Rumble in the Bronx and The Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest. Dion Waiters (Philadelphia/Life Center; Syracuse), Markus Kennedy (Philadelphia/Apex Academies; Villanova) Michael Gilchrist (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick), and Rakeem Christmas (Philadelphia/Northeast Catholic) are high level players that play well together and dominate the competition.
• Each One Teach One: Any team with a backcourt featuring Brandon Knight (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Pine Crest) and Austin Rivers(Winter Park, Fla.; Florida) is going to have a chance against anyone.
• Grass Roots Canada This team has a chance to win any competition it enters. They are talented and deep featuring one of the top players in the class of 2010 in Tristan Thompson (Texas) along with PG Corey Joseph (Uncommitted) and Dwight Powell (Uncommitted).
• Team Florida: Led by Okaro White (Clearwater, Fla.; Florida St), this group won The Wallace Prather Memorial Classic and is a threat to advance in every tournament they play in.
• Atlanta Celtics: The always dangerous Celtics are led by an outstanding backcourt featuring Ryan Harrow (Marietta, Ga./George Walton; NC State), Jordan McRae (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County; Tennessee) and scoring machine Trae Golden (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern).
• Illinois Warriors: The Warriors, who won The Real Deal on the Rock, are led by Vander Blue (Madison, Wisc./Memorial), Brandon Spearman (Chicago, Simeon), and Ahmad Starks (Chicago/Young; Oregon St).
3. Players making their college choices over the summer
With nearly half of the Top 100 players in the Class of 2010 already locked up and off the board with a college commitment, it will be interesting to follow the high stakes recruiting battles as teams from the power conferences jockey for position with the remaining elite players. Harrison Barnes (Ames, Iowa), Brandon Knight (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Pine Crest), Joshua Smith (Covington, Wash./Kent), Dominique Ferguson (Indianapolis/Lawrence North), and Kyrie Irving (Elizabeth, N.J./St. Patrick) are Top 10 level players that will garner a lot of attention throughout the July evaluation period, but the competition will be just as fierce for players lower in the ranking, such as Tim Hardaway Jr. (Miami/Palmetto) Tarik Black (Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway, Dwight Powell), Shaquille Thomas (Montclair, N.J./Mountain State University Academy), and Keala King (Compton, Calif./Dominguez), because attracting Top 100 level players is vital to the future success of a Top 25 level program or those trying to get in the rankings. The ability to lock a prospect up with a commitment prior to the start of school is big for the elite programs; it not only helps build momentum in the current recruiting class it allows the coaches to focus in more on their current team, fill the remaining spot(s) of the current class, and get a head-start on the upcoming recruiting class for the following year.
4. International players competing at the highest level
Our neighbor's to the north have always had a small number of players within the Division I ranks, but mostly at the low-to mid-major level. Grass Roots Canada, led by Coach Ro Russell, has developed quite a few players that have already committed -- including Tristan Thompson (Ontario/Findlay Prep (Nev.)) and Myck Kabongo (Toronto/St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)), both of whom are bound for Texas -- or will play at the high major level -- Corey Joseph (Toronto/Findlay Prep (N.V.)). This trend is beginning to change the basketball mindset of college coaches recruiting the hockey crazed youth of Canada. Watching the impact that foreign-born players Hedu Turkoglu and Pau Gasol had in NBA Finals it is obvious how much basketball has become a global game. The number of international players competing in the college ranks has steadily increased during the past decade; players from Europe, Africa, and Australia have shown the ability to play at the highest levels. Every summer it seems that an unknown international player comes on the scene and generates a lot off buzz.
5. Who rises to the top/who challenges for the top spot
Some years there is a consensus amongst the "basketball recruiting experts" as to who is the top player in the class. Other years no one player separates from the rest, leaving multiple opinions as to the most talented player in the country. Much like last season, this year's recruiting class has a number of players who could end up playing themselves into the top spot in the Class of 2010. Barnes gets the nod as the number one player in the class heading into the July evaluation period, but he will have a lot of competition trying to grab the position of king of the hill. Knight, Sullinger, Thompson, Richmond and Barton along with a host of others have the ability to grab the top position with an outstanding summer. The rankings will most likely change after the July evaluation period; ESPN.com will have all the updates as to who played themselves up or down in the rankings.
Mike LaPlante has spent nearly 20 years coaching college basketball. Most recently, he was the head coach at Jacksonville State University.
