Two interesting articles at ESPN.com!

Pat Forde on the impact of the new NBA Draft rule on the college game, on recruits and recruiting, and on colleges (and coaches). (129 comments)

Andy Katz compares the rosters of the Final Four teams with the recruiting rankings of their players back when they entered college.

Coming soon: Roundball Classic and NIKE Hoops Summit

Coming soon: Roundball Classic and NIKE Hoops Summit!

I am not exactly sure when they will debut on TV, but I will post an update as soon as I find out. The Nike Hoop Summit will air on FSN and Fox College Sports, while Sonny Vaccaro's Roundball Classic will air on CSTV. Both will repeat a few times after the original air date, so don't worry if you miss it. More details after the Final Four is over...

Latest from CSTV and Bill Hodges

The Bill Hodges Repor(t) (free, no membership) has the latest commits and decommits, which includes a number of JuCos (JC players) finding homes for 2007-2008, and a 2008 guard at a high profile Jersey high school staying in the area. Also former McDonalds All-American Nate Minnoy has found a new home. Visit the Bill Hodges report for all the details...

Meanwhile I will be having increased recruiting coverage in this blog once the NCAA Tourney is over. If you have any ideas or suggestions on stories and things to keep track off, please send me an email or leave a comment :-)

If I had to pick one player from the McDonalds roster...

If I was building a team and had to pick exactly one player from the McDonalds all american roster, my first choice would be... Patrick Patterson because he was so effective and efficient. His dunks may not be spectacular but he delivers and whoever gets him they are going to get a valuable component that could lead to championships...

My second choice would be Derrick Rose, can't argue with a true point guard taller than 6-feet...

Now this doesn't necessarily mean I think those two will be the best players in the NBA out of the 2007 class. Certainly OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley have star power. Kevin Love maybe effective at UCLA (which explains why he went there), but he needs a lot of work before he becomes an NBA player.

Incidentally the November 2006 issue of "Slam" magazine is a high-school basketball special issue with Kevin Love and Kyle Singler on the front cover. It's available on Amazon for $5, and eligible for free shipping with orders over $25. Also eligible for the 4-for-3 promotion.

Top JuCo prospects by Vance Coleman

Vance Coleman of CSTV looks at some of the best JC (JuCo) players at the NJCAA Nationals. A total of around 35 players are presented by Vance, with a short paragraph describing the player and the teams interested in him. Some of them are committed, but some are still available (coaches are you reading this???)

Lots of games on TV!

Lots of games on TV, including state championships and the McDonalds all star game. More detailed TV listings at NCAA Hoops Today Week of March Madness TV listings.

Mc Donalds All American Game this Wednesday March 28, 2007!

If your favorite team(s) are out of the NCAA tourney, you are not alone. All but four teams are left standing. But here's to the upcoming season, which for some teams starts with the McDonalds all-star game.

The men's (boys) game will be on ESPN, at 5pm PT/8pm ET on Wednesday March 28, 2007. Also one hour earlier (4pmPT/7pmET) an edited version of the slam dunk and three-point contest, aka the Jam Fest. The game will be played at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. (

You bet the topic of the Kentucky coaching vacancy will come up during the broadcast, especially since the two uncommitted players (Patrick Patterson, and Jai Lucas) were involved with Tubby Smith and Kentucky.

If you miss the live airing, you can watch a repeat at 10am on Thursday, also on ESPN. ESPNU will probably repeat it a few more times. I am boycotting ESPNU listings until ESPN and Comcast come to an agreement and carry ESPNU. Apparently according to posts in message boards, ESPN wants ESPNU to be made available to all digital cable subscribers, while Comcast wants to put ESPNU in the Sports Tier (which costs an additional $5 per month). Since we are dealing with multi-billion dollar companies, this sounds like a petty dispute that should have been resolved already!


More details, including discussions on who and why was left out, and who was undeservedly included at this post