HoopScoop
'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, both of whom have dropped out of the top five on our list. Bayless already was ranked #5 on our previous list, but he impressed us so much earlier this spring with his ability to get his own shot and score in a variety of ways that we decided to move him up, instead of down. Green hails from the high school that originally produced Carmelo Anthony, but his inside/outside game is more like that of Rudy Gay. And Green is only just beginning to scratch the surface. As a matter of fact, we think Green is one of the guys who everybody will be talking about in July. Gordon was absolutely sensational at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Championships and is an absolute scoring machine. So, if merit means anything, he's got to be the fifth player in our top five. Walker is still a consistent 3-point jump away from being as good as anybody in the class, but it hasn't improved any two years. Thus, explains why we've dropped Walker out of our top five. And Beasley could end up being the next Derrick Caracater. We're talking about somebody who doesn't play very hard and isn't always be focused, as he's obviously too talented for his own good. A lot of people will also probably be surprised by the fact that we have 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA ranked #10, but we still think it's too close to call between King and 6'9 Jr Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, who checks in at #9. Singler is taller and more athletic, but King is tougher, rebounds better, and shoots it just as well as Singler. Another surprise is 6'8 Jr Blake Griffin from Edmund (Oklahoma Christian) OK, but he's one of our favorite players, because he's one the best rebounders in the class and doesn't take any prisoners around the basket, which make him the ultimate blue collar player! We dropped 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Housotn (Aldine) TX from #8 to #15 based on the fact that his skill level hasn't improved and he did not have a great spring. However, this might be one that we'd like to take back, because Johnson is another guy who is a tremendous competitor and he has been slowed by injuries. If 6'7 Jr Jamelle Horne from San Diego (Hoover) CA were a stock, now would be a good time to buy, because we're talking about a tremendous competitor, big time athlete, and very skilled player who is on a mission to make the McDonald's All-American Team. The more we see of 6'3 Jr Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, the more we wonder what all the hype was about. He's not a pure point guard and he doesn't have a shooter's mentality, which means this talented athlete belongs in our top 20, but not in our top 10 nationally. Instead, the fastest rising player in the state is 6'8 Jr Brandon McGee from Chicago (Crane) IL, who already has good offensive arsenal and is just oozing with potential. One of the biggest sleepers in the class is 6'3 Jr E'Twuan Moore from East Chicago (Central) IN, who has a point guard mentality, but also is lethal when he's got to take over a game and find a way to score. But, then again, what do you expect with regards to a player from the Northwest "Region" of Indiana, where players never have gotten the notoriety and respect that they deserve? Few players in the class combine athleticism and outside shooting together better than 6'4 Jr Chris Allen from Lawrenceville (Meadowcreek) GA, which explains his rise to #25 in the class. We think 6'9 Jr Austin Daye from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA has superstar written all over him, as he looks like and plays a lot like Tayshaun Prince. However, we don't rank Daye any higher than #26 right now, because we want him to earn it. 7'1 Jr Kosta Koufos from Canton (Glen Oak) OH is probably ranked too high right now at #27, but, in the end, this will probably be way too low due to his high skill level and the rapid improvement he's made since coming off an injury that sidelined him this past season. Most of our competition has 6'9 Jr Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA ranked in the top 10-15 range nationally, but his Pittsburgh Jots teammate - 6'7 Jr DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA - gets more done on a regular basis. So it should come as no surprise that we have Pope ranked lower and Blair ranked higher than everybody else does. We also weren't impressed with 6'9 Jr Julian Vaughn from Reston (South Lake) VA at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Cham
