The One Year Dream

Carmello was the first, Marvin Williams was the second. This may be the path (or dream) for future generations of elite players. Play one year in college, win the championship, and then swim to a Top 5 draft position. Not bad eh?

Greg Oden maybe heading in that direction, although he may be serious about being ...serious about staying in college until he graduates. He started a new trend: take some of your very talented friends along. OJ Mayo may follow suit in 2007 with Billy Walker and the forward from their team.

Return of the Roi (Roy): Duke vs Carolina

It was a big surprise to a lot of people that Brandan Wright chose NC over Duke and others, even though Duke and others may have needed him more.

But is this really a surprise? Roy Williams returns to Carolina, plays run and fun and gun, and wins a national championship. Oh and Marvin Williams ends up a Top 3 draft pick without even starting a game. On the other hand Coach K had to play ugly to compensate for lack of depth and Duke-level talent. So if you are a high energy recruit where do you want to go play?

It is not a coincidence that Coach K has already emphasized in preseason interviews that Duke is returning to Duke basketball style of play - a lot more fun for the players than grinding it out.

Thaddeus Young sweepstakes

One of the top players of 2006 is expected to make his announcement on Monday, probably between Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia Tech. Memphis was apparently eliminated. Needless to say it would be a huge get for the winner, not just for the one year he will likely play in college, but also for PR purposes.

Georgia Tech may be a good candidate because of the development of Chris Bosh and having a top 10 PG coming in in Javaris Critterton.

Recruiting Resources: HoopScoopOnline.com

A great resource for recruiting news, rankings and analysis is Hoop Scoop. The free content is great, but if you want your daily fix, you need to get a membership. Along with the website they have weekly two hour internet radio show (see previous blog post).

One of the great things HoopScoop does is separating 5th year players from the rest of the class. In the next few months - with the new NBA draft rules in effect - I am expecting to see a distinction as to whether a player qualifies for the NBA draft (if his class graduated one or more years ago). The 5th year player list is a good starting point. Incidentally the free section of HoopScoop features the best 10 players of 2006, 2006-5th year players, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Another free feature is the Top 10 recruiting classes of 2006 using HoopScoop's extensive rating system. While Ohio State is the sentimental choice for best class (because of Greg Oden), North Carolina has actually amassed the most talent. If you feel strongly about this, HoopScoop has a poll on this very topic: NC -vs- Ohion State 2006 recruiting class.

Recruiting on Radio and TV

TV: If you have access to Fox College Sports or the regional FSNs via satellite, check your local listings for "Signing Day", a show that focuses on recruiting, mainly in the south east (ACC, SEC). They have both basketball and football editions, so keep that in mind.

Internet Radio: A two-hour weekly show hosted by Hoop Scoop Online, featuring Clark Francis covers a variety of topics in the universe of recruiting. Archives of the show are available as well.