Indiana center/forward Kirk Haston announced today that he is
going to enter the NBA Draft. He reportedly will not sign with an agent and
could come back for his senior season. Haston led the Hoosiers in scoring (19.0)
and rebounding (8.7). Haston has shown tremendous improvement throughout his
career. He was not a highly recruited player out of high school. He led his
school team to a 37-0 mark and a Tennessee class A state title as a senior.
Haston was redshirted as a freshman and averaged 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds
per game in 1998-99. Haston raised his numbers to 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds
per contest in 1999-2000. He became a very good outside shooter this past year,
making 26 of 69 from beyond the arc, including a game-winning three against
Michigan State at home. Haston has a good scoring mentality and has a very good
pump fake who rarely gets his shot blocked. He has demonstrated very good
inside moves. The question for him is, who does he guard in the NBA? He lacks
the strength to guard the more physical players in the NBA at the power forward
spot and he does not have the quickness at the small forward. He also needs to
work on his passing skills. Haston tends to think shot first when he gets the
ball, although Indiana did not have many other scoring options. He had just 41
assists this season.
The Hoosiers would have returned everyone from a 21-12 team
that lost to Kent State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers
were 64-31 in Haston’s three seasons, but they are just 1-3 in the NCAA
Tournament and they lost in the first round the past two seasons. Haston, who
scored 780 points this past season, could finish fourth in Indiana school
history in scoring, if he duplicated those numbers next season. If he scored
783 points, he would pass Don Schlundt for third place. The Hoosiers finished
third in the Big Ten with a 10-6 mark. If Haston returned they would likely
challenge Illinois for the Big Ten crown. The Illini lost seniors Marcus Griffith
and Sergio McLain. Michigan State, which tied Illinois with a 13-3 mark, loses
seniors David Thomas, Charlie Bell, Andre Hutson and Mike Chappell along with
early entry candidates Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson.
Haston is an excellent student who is close to receiving his
degree, which also played a part in his declaring for the draft. I would rate
him at the #7 power forward and a likely late first or early second round pick.
Here are my top seven power forwards.
1.
Troy
Murphy* 6-11 245 JR Notre Dame
2.
Zach
Randolph* 6-9 270 FR Michigan State
3.
Michael Bradley* 6-10 245 JR Villanova
4.
Rodney
White* 6-8 230 FR Charlotte
5.
Ousmane
Cisse* 6-9 255 SR Montgomery (AL) St. Jude’s
6.
Jarron
Collins 6-10 248 SR Stanford
7.
Kirk
Haston* 6-10 230 SR Indiana
6-3
guard Chris Rodgers has committed to
the Arizona Wildcats over Duke and
North Carolina. He is among the College
Basketball News’ top 62 high school juniors. Rodgers attends Portland (OR)
Woodrow Wilson High and plays for the Portland Legends AAU team. He attends the
same high school as former Wildcat standout Damon Stoudamire and is friends
with incoming recruit Salim Stoudamire, who is Damon’s cousin. Rodgers has the
ability to play both guard spots, but will likely convert to point guard in
college. The Wildcats signed five players this season and thus can only sign
three players this season as part of the 5/8 rule Rodgers is described as an
excellent student with a 3.6 GPA. He will attend the Nike All-America Camp this
July in Indianapolis.
|
PACIFIC TEAM ROSTER |
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No. |
Name |
School |
Pos |
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1 |
Dean Oliver |
Iowa |
PG |
|
2 |
Horace Jenkins |
William
Paterson |
PG |
|
3 |
Nolan Johnson |
Oklahoma |
SG |
|
4 |
Monty Mack |
Massachusetts |
SG |
|
5 |
Greg Stevenson |
Richmond |
SF |
|
10 |
Martin Rancik |
Iowa St. |
SF |
|
11 |
Calvin Bowman |
West Virginia |
PF |
|
12 |
Terence Morris |
Maryland |
SF |
|
14 |
Jarron Collins |
Stanford |
PF |
|
15 |
Chris Heinrich |
St. Louis |
C |
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|
MIDWEST TEAM ROSTER |
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No. |
Name |
School |
Pos |
|
1 |
Tony Harris |
Tennessee |
PG |
|
2 |
Joe Crispin |
Penn St. |
PG |
|
3 |
Carlos Arroyo |
Florida Int'l |
PG |
|
5 |
Terrell Lyday |
BYU |
SG |
|
6 |
Jeff
Trepagnier |
USC |
SG |
|
10 |
Bryan Bracey |
Oregon |
SF |
|
12 |
Brandon
Wolfram |
UTEP |
PF |
|
13 |
Kimani Ffriend |
Nebraska |
C |
|
14 |
Anthony Evans |
Georgia |
PF |
|
15 |
Andre Hutson |
Michigan St. |
PF |
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|
CENTRAL TEAM ROSTER |
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No. |
Name |
School |
Pos |
|
1 |
Rashad
Phillips |
Detroit |
PG |
|
2 |
Earl Watson |
UCLA |
PG |
|
3 |
Kyle Hill |
Eastern Ill. |
PG |
|
4 |
Darren Kelly |
Texas |
SG |
|
5 |
Brian Wardle |
Marquette |
SG |
|
6 |
Damone Brown |
Syracuse |
SF |
|
10 |
Casey Calvary |
Gonzaga |
PF |
|
11 |
Damon Thornton |
North Carolina
State |
PF |
|
12 |
Isiah Victor |
Tennessee |
SF |
|
14 |
Kaspars
Kambala |
UNLV |
PF |
|
15 |
Eric Chenowith |
Kansas |
C |
|
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|
ATLANTIC TEAM ROSTER |
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No. |
Name |
School |
Pos |
|
2 |
Charlie Bell |
Michigan St. |
SG |
|
3 |
Marques Maybin |
Louisville |
SG |
|
4 |
Brian
Merriweather |
Texas-Pan AM |
SG |
|
5 |
Kenny Gregory |
Kansas |
SF |
|
8 |
Sean Lampley |
California |
SF |
|
9 |
Jeryl Sasser |
SMU |
SG |
|
10 |
Eugene Edgerson |
Arizona |
PF |
|
13 |
Ken Johnson |
Ohio St. |
C |
|
14 |
Zarko Carbarkapa |
Yugoslavia |
SF |
|
15 |
Brian
Scalabrine |
USC |
PF |
The
names of the players entering the NBA Draft continue to amuse and befuddle me.
Orange Coast (CA) JC guard Nick Burwell
has declared himself eligible for the NBA draft, according to the Orange County Register. The 6-4,
206-pound Burwell (Inglewood High) averaged 22.8 points a game in 2000-01, the
third-highest average in school history. He shot 41.2% from the field and 30.7%
from the free throw line. Burwell also averaged 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists
per game for the Pirates, who finished 16-14 this season. He scored at least 30
points five times this season, including a 45-point outburst at El Camino
November 22, the second-best single-game performance ever by a Pirate. Burwell
finished the season with 80 3-pointers, which tied the school record, set by
Derek Roche in 1993-94. His 261 attempts from long distance set the school
record. He also ended up near the top on Coast's single-season scoring charts.
His 22.8 points per game rank third all-time for a Pirate, behind John Valley's
25.8 average in 1967-68 and Chris Beasley's 23.4 in 1981-82.
According
to the story, Burwell entered the draft on the advice of his agent,
Louisiana-based Eddie Clark His quote, which personally scares me was; "I
didn't want to go to a Division II school - that's like juco," Burwell
said. "They told me I would (get drafted), so I put my name in."
My
grandmother has as good a chance of being drafted as does Burwell, who was
ineligible last season after playing at a West Los Angeles JC in 1998-99. He
played at Inglewood during his senior season after transferring from Serra
High. Burwell was named to the All-Orange Empire Conference Team this year.
MVP
Melvin Scott hit the opening shot to give the Baltimore All-Stars a 2-0 lead in
the First Charm City Classic in the Baltimore area. The Charlie Weber
production thrilled the over 2,000 fans at Towson Center with a home 86-73 win.
SCOTT NAMED MVP
North
Carolina recruit Melvin Scott made
five three-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points to led Baltimore All-Stars
over the United States All-Stars in the Premiere Charm City Classic in Towson,
MD. Scott, who starred at Baltimore (MD) Southern was named the Baltimore
All-Stars’ MVP. Teammate Darshan Luckey, who signed with St. Francis (PA)
earlier this week, added eleven points. Clemson signee Sharrod Ford added 12
points and point guard Kenny Minor contributed 13 points. The USA team was led
by its Most Valuable Player Derek Stribling, who signed with Tennessee. He had
13 points as did Eddie Basden. Badsen signed with Massachusetts, but asked for
his release when head coach Bruiser Flint was let go. West Virginia recruit
Jonathan Hargett added eleven and Syracuse signee Craig Forth chipped in ten.
April 28, 2001
I
reported three days ago that 6-8 Yugoslavian forward Zarko Carbarkapa was added to the Desert Classic roster. However, he may not
play after all since he is just 20 years old and is not eligible for the draft,
unless he were to become an early entry candidate. The Portsmouth Invitational
and Desert Classic are for seniors only and early entry candidates are not
eligible. However, the Desert Classic has invited a foreign player the past
several seasons. Australian forward Sam McKinnon participated in 1998 and
Chinese center Menk Bateer played in 1999, despite being older than 22 and thus
not eligible for the draft. Last season, Matjas Smodis from Slovenia played
despite being 21 years old. Reportedly, the Desert Classic officials did not
know that he was underage until he arrived, which seems hard to believe, since
his bio on telebasket.com showed that he was born in 1979. Carbarkapa is
described as a versatile player with good size and athleticism. He needs to get
stronger before he is ready for the NBA.
BUCKEYES SIGN
FOURTH PLAYER
6-6
guard Clark Williams of Lilburn (GA)
Berkmar signed with Ohio State and give the Buckeyes a n outstanding four-man
recruiting class. Ohio State gained another scholarship when when sophomore
forward Cobe Ocokoljic decided earlier this month to leave the program. He is
looking at Bowling Green, Cleveland State or Eastern Michigan.
Williams
nearly signed with St. Bonaventure in the fall recruiting period, choose the
Buckeyes over Rhode Island. He lived in Columbus before moving to Georgia when
he was 12. The Buckeyes may have landed their top recruiting class under head
coach Jim O’Brien. They inked point guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham of Beaver Falls
(PA) High, 6-7small forward Matt Sylvester of Cincinnati (OH) Moeller and 6-9
power forward Terence Dials of Youngstown Boardman in the early signing period.
Williams
averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game in leading his team to its
second consecutive Georgia big-school championship.
I
am planning on having my first mock draft after the Desert Classic when the
site becomes a subscription site, but here is a teaser for the time being. Here
are my top 15 picks. You will see that there are only four seniors among the
top 15 picks and it would not be a surprise to see more than last year’s
record-breaking 18 underclassmen go in the first round. The players with an
asterisk by their name are underclassmen. Chinese center Yao Ming has not
officially announced his intentions yet.
|
Yao Ming |
7-5 |
270 |
C |
---- |
Shanghai East
Sharks (China) |
|
Eddie Griffin* |
6-9 |
212 |
SF |
FR |
Seton Hall |
|
Eddy Curry* |
6-10 |
290 |
C |
SR |
South Holland
(IL) Thornwood High |
|
DeSagana Diop* |
7-0 |
310 |
C |
SR |
Mouth of
Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy |
|
Tyson
Chandler* |
7-1 |
225 |
SF |
FR |
Compton (CA) Dominguez HS |
|
Jason
Richardson* |
6-6 |
220 |
SG |
SO |
Michigan State |
|
Shane Battier |
6-8 |
220 |
SF |
SR |
Duke |
|
Zach Randolph* |
6-9 |
270 |
PF |
FR |
Michigan State |
|
Brendan
Haywood |
7-0 |
264 |
C |
SR |
North Carolina |
|
Troy Murphy* |
6-11 |
245 |
PF |
JR |
Notre Dame |
|
Loren Woods |
7-1 |
244 |
C |
SR |
Arizona |
|
Joseph Forte* |
6-4 |
192 |
SG |
SO |
North Carolina |
|
Michael Bradley* |
6-10 |
245 |
PF |
JR |
Villanova |
|
Richard
Jefferson* |
6-7 |
222 |
SF |
JR |
Arizona |
|
Jamaal Tinsley |
6-3 |
195 |
PG |
SR |
Iowa State |
The
New Mexico Lobos landed their fifth and final piece of the recruiting puzzle
when College Basketball News’ top 70
JC center Moustapha Diagne of
Trinity Valley (TX) announced that he will play for the Mountain West team. The
Lobos had previously signed 7-0 center Chad Bell of Los Angeles (CA)
Westchester, 6-6 power forward Jamaal Williams from Corona (CA) Centennial, 6-7
power forward Cody Payne of Collin County (TX) CC and 6-2 point guard Mark
Walters from nearby Albuquerque (NM) Highland.
Diagne,
a native of Senegal, averaged 14.5 points per game, eight rebounds per game and
shot 63% from the floor this season and he has made strong strides in his games
the past two seasons. He had narrowed down his final three schools to
Cincinnati, Missouri and New Mexico after visiting Missouri last weekend.
Diagne made an official visit to Cincinnati Easter weekend. He had visited
Pittsburgh, the week following the Final Four and took official visits to
Alabama and New Mexico last fall.
New
Mexico finished 19-12 last season in head coach Fran Fraschilla’s second season
in Albuquerque. They lose just Wayland White and Brian Smith from their fifth
place team. The signing of Diagne gives the Lobos the second best recruiting
class in the conference behind San Diego State.
As
we predicted awhile ago, 7-0 center DeSagana
Diop from Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy is going to enter the NBA draft.
Diop, a native of Senegal, averaged 14.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game this
season for the number one team in the country. He missed the end of the season
with a foot injury and did not play in the McDonald’s All-American Game. There
had been speculation that he would play in the Sonny Vaccaro All-Star Classic,
but he was forced to watch from the sideline. Diop has very strength, but needs
to get in better shape. He has not play basketball for very long and has a good
upside. Diop was being recruited by North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia Tech.
I have Diop rated as the number three center in the draft behind Yao Ming (who
has not made it clear whether he will be in the draft) and Eddy Curry (who can
also play power forward). He figures to be a mid lottery pick.
ARKANSAS FORWARD JOHNSON TO
ENTER DRAFT
6-8
forward Joe Johnson of Arkansas has,
as expected, announced that he will put his name into the NBA Draft. He will
not sign with an agent and could return for his junior season. Johnson is a
versatile player who is a good ballhandler and shooter. He was one of the top
players at the Under 20 Trials in Colorado Springs where he performed in front
of many of the NBA scouts. He has the ability to spend some time at shooting
guard. Johnson struggled at times this season due to an ankle and wrist injury.
He has a pro body and figures to be a first round pick. Johnson averaged 14.2
points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Arkansas
finished 20-11 this past season, losing to Georgetown in the first round of the
NCAA Tournament. Their top eleven scorers, including Johnson, are
underclassmen. The Razorbacks would be a preseason College Basketball News’ Top 20 team if Johnson returned to school.
6-2
sophomore Marcus Hatten of
Tallahassee (FL) CC will play for St. John’s next year. He helped paced his
team to the #2 spot in the country before they were upset in the first round of
the Florida State JC Tournament. Hatten
led the Panhandle Conference in scoring with 24.1 points per game and was third
in the country in scoring. He was a first team All-NJCAA All-American
selection. He was being recruited by DePaul, Indiana and Minnesota among
others. Despite his size, he is more suited for the shooting guard spot and
should not be considered a replacement for freshman guard Omar Cook, who is
reportedly thinking about entering the draft.
You
can check out the some new features I have added to the web page. I have posted
the 2001 College Basketball News’ All-American
team, College Basketball
News’ All-Freshman squad, Freshmen of the
Year for each conference and Top 70 JC sophomores.