Catching up with the latest recruiting news

All apologies for falling behind in our updates, unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day. Here are the latest updates from CSTV's Hodge Report.

From all those commitments, here is what has caught our cyber eye:

Georgetown gets a big recruiting W as they get a top forward from SoCal, beating some of the top national and regional powers for his services

Willie Warren, the talented, but also at time troubled guard finds a new home, and he is going to be coached by a former Dookie! Oy! Van Coleman opines.

Kevin Love is Ben Howland's pied piper as UCLA adds a 2010 top 30 guard from the area

A tough cookie Gouchos guard commits to Drexel

Touted Chris Singleton picks a school, and he's gonna be having orange juice and sunshine at his new college

Mike Mercer transfers to a college coached by a former SEC coach (no, not Tubby Smith)

John Pemprhey (sp?) at Arkansas continues to pile up the recruits during his first season there

Leonard Hamilton ...cooks something in the ...kitchen

In my estimation the big winner of November was Leonard Hamilton and Florida State as he added a number of talented players. Not bad for a coach who may be a potential Hot Seat nominee. But I think FSU is on the verge of a major breakout on the court. Don't be surprised if we see a Sweet 16 or even an Elite 8 run from FSU this year.

For a list of player destinations, player profiles, and team databases, all free of charge, along with expert commentary from Van Coleman, check CSTV's Hodge Repor(t).

The One And Out Super Recruit is a gift that keeps on giving

As we have seen, the majority of coaches would rather take a one-and-out superstar, than not take him. This was the case even before the new 19 year old NBA rule was in place. But with the NBA rule in place, it makes this even more predictable because you know that the players who would have gone straight to the NBA, are very likely to be one and out.

So why are they going after them? Is it just because of a shot at the national championship? Or is more than just that? Because for every Carmelo Anthony, Mike Conley and Greg Oden, there is a Kevin Durant, Spencer Hawes and DJ Wagner.

Of course there is more to it. Just ask Ben Howland. Before he got Kevin Love, he had to find diamonds in the rough and scrap to get touted players even though he was a Final Four coach at UCLA. But once the big star of Kevin Love signed on the dotted line, a number of players from 2008+ converged on UCLA, Drew Gordon, Holiday, Lee, etc.

Look at Syracuse's talented freshman class of 2007. You think the signing of Carmelo did not have an impact on them going there as well? Or the players committing to USC and Tim Floyd after he got OJ Mayo, starting with Devon Jefferson perhaps and continuing with the 2008+ players.

Each one of the big signings creates a sonic boom, and the upcoming recruits in the pipeline pay close attention and are influenced by where the players they were looking up to went to. So getting one of them can get you tax-free recruiting dividends for years to come!

And speaking of superstars, after seeing the positive impact Pitino had on Derrick Caracter, there's a what-if Sebastian Telfair might be asking himself when he wakes up in the middle of the night. What if he played at PitinoVille for a year and got himself sorted out and disciplined? That one year could have resulted in a much better NBA career for him.

But only a handful of coaches are able to do that. When the coaches star is brighter than the players star, then the coach has a lot more flexibility in dealing with a super star recruit. The likes of Pitino, Coach K, Roy Williams, Lute Olson can point to their rings, final fours, number of wins and success and can discipline the players. But when a superstar goes to a place where he is the biggest star (OJ Mayo at USC, Michael Beasley at Kansas State) the coach does not have as much flexibility. If you are Frank Martin you can't just bench Michael Beasley for a month because he doesn't go to class. The boosters and the runners will eat you alive. But if you are Pitino or Coach K, you can certainly do it.

Breaking news from Kentucky Ink on Leonard Washington

Breaking news from Kentucky Ink on Leonard Washington! Just posted on their website is a detailed account of the Leonard Washington story. It involves the NCAA Clearing House, and the side-effects of NCAA's long-winded red tape. For the details, check the Kentucky Ink story!

Erik Murphy reveals his final seven!

According to Jeff Goodman's blog at FoxSports.com, touted forward Erik Murphy has "trimmed" his list down to just seven teams. While seven teams are a lot, when you consider that there are over 300 division one schools, and even more in D2, D3, NAIA and Jucos, then you can see why it is a trim :-)

I won't reveal his final seven schools, but Jeff Goodman does!.

PS> If you missed CSTV's two hour special on signing day, be sure to check your local listings or CSTV.com for a repeat. It features Seth Davis, Van Coleman, Steve Lappas, the Godfather Sonny Vaccaro, Tom Konchalski, and lots more!

Jonathan Baldwin featured on Future Phenoms

Two-sport star (football, basketball) Jonathan Baldwin was featured in this week's edition of Future Phenoms. Future Phenoms is a 30 minute news-magazine show looking at upcoming athletes, and narrated by the legendary Pat Summerall. The show is produced out of Texas.

Next week they will feature a basketball player from the Northeast who has committed to Ole Roy and North Carolina. Future Phenoms is broadcast nationally on Fox College Sports.

This show is also produced under the name of "Sports Stars of Tomorrow", with the same content but slightly different graphics. Check your local listings for airtimes and availability.

Breaking news from Kentucky Ink on a potential 2007-2008 player

Kentucky Ink has the scoop on a potential recruit that has been cleared (or will soon be) by the NCAA to play for this season if he choses to do so. This player had previously reclassified for the 2008-2009.

I don't want to steal their thunder, so to get the juicy details, please visit Kentucky Ink.

Fall Signing period two hour recruiting show on CSTV today!

Seth Davis and his recruiting expert friends will be presenting a two hour college basketball recruiting special on CSTV tonight, Wednesday November 14, 2007. The show will debut at 6pm pacific on CSTV. It will repeat at 10pm pacific and 2am pacific, with more repeats later in the week. As always check with your local listings for the channel number and air times.

More TV scheduling at NHT, with the latest college basketball games, documentaries and preview shows are listed. This includes ESPN, ESPN2, FSN, Fox College Sports, CSTV, Versus, ESPN Classic, and CBS and ABC when they start broadcasting games in December. Not listed are ESPN Full Court and ESPNU.