Note: This is the first in a series on University of Massachusetts summer recruiting. Today's installment focuses on power forwards.
his is a good year to need a power forward. With Chris Kirkland graduating
after the season and uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of Ronell Blizzard
and Syracuse transfer Eric Williams at the position, the University of
Massachusetts men's basketball team is aggressively pursuing some of the
nation's top big forwards.
UMass' top choice overall was Philadelphia native Eddie Griffin, who is considered one of the top 10 players nationally. He visited the Amherst campus last Thursday as the Minutemen were one of his final options, but he opted for Seton Hall and coach Tommy Amaker. The Pirates are in the process of putting together an impressive class with verbal commitments from three of the nation's top 25 high school players.
James Thomas, a 6-7 power forward from Milford (Conn.) Academy that UMass had been lightly recruiting, committed to Texas.
Athletic forward Taurence Johnson's reputation has been growing over the summer. The 6-foot-9 Williamsport (Penn.) player had an impressive Nike Camp and some recruiting experts are listing Johnson among the top 40 players nationally. He told one recruiting service last month that the Minutemen lead for his services in front of five or six other programs.
His ball-handling and passing ability might land him at small forward at the college level.
His Williamsport teammate, Chevon Troutman, a 6-7 230-pound inside player is planning to visit UMass in September.
New York City native Kyle Cuffe is highly regarded at 6-foot-8 and is looking at schools up and down the East Coast including UMass.
Sean Knitter shares a hometown with UMass coach Bruiser Flint. At 6-8, 215 pounds the Philadelphia native needs to add weight to have a chance to be effective in college. He averaged 20 points per game last season and has drawn interest from the Minutemen.
Longshots Travon Bryant and Zach Randolph have also listed UMass. Michigan State is considered the leader for Randolph a Marion, Ind., native, but the 6-9 forward who can also play center has continued to list UMass as his school list narrows. Bryant hails from California and is expected to remain out West.
Material from interviews and a variety of recruiting publications was used in this story.
Note: This is the second in a series on University of Massachusetts summer recruiting. Today's installment focuses on small forwards.
istorically, the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team has
acquired small forwards in bunches.
Dana Dingle, Donta Bright and Rigoberto Nunez arrived together, as did Mike Babul, Chris Kirkland and Winston Smith.
Kirkland and Babul will be gone after the upcoming season, but Smith returns and Ronell Blizzard could play small forward as well. With Raheim Lamb already in the fold, it isn't a position of huge need for UMass, but the Minutemen will likely try to add one more wing forward to this year's class.
Lawrence native Scott Hazelton is considered to be the best player coming out of Massachusetts and UMass is in pursuit. At 6-7 he could potentially play some power forward as well, but his skills gear him more toward the perimeter.
Hazelton has been a difficult matchup for AAU opponents because of his height. He handles the ball well for his size and has extended his range beyond the 3-point arc.
While Hazelton hoped to land a scholarship offer from Duke, one doesn't appear to be forthcoming, opening his recruiting up further. Kansas has stepped up its interest of late and could be the favorite to land him if they offer, but the Jayhawks are recruiting other forwards as well and have yet to offer.
UConn's addition of 6-foot-6 Caron Butler might push the Huskies out of the Hazelton picture. Currently Syracuse, Providence and Maryland are also in the mix.
Baltimore native Zeke Johnson is an impressive player but the 6-foot-7 leaper could land in prep school to help him get necessary scores to qualify.
Eugene Seals shares the hometown of Saginaw, Mich., with former Rhode Island guard Preston Murphy. His list of schools remains long with UMass included. He averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds last season.
Fayetteville, N.C., product Michael Joiner is a long shot but listed the Minutemen among a long list of schools early in the summer.
Seton Hall's recent recruiting bonanza has left the Pirates stocked, which will cause them to withdraw from the races from several other players.
Among those players is Jamar Smith, a 6-foot-8 combo forward that hails from Pine Hill, N.J. He is looking at Rutgers, Ohio State, Clemson, Maryland, Georgetown and Miami as well as UMass.
Material from interviews and a variety of recruiting publications was used in this story.
Note: This is the third in a series on University of Massachusetts summer recruiting. Today's installment focuses on shooting guards.
ince the NCAA enacted a rule allowing players who
were forced to sit out their freshman season as partial
qualifiers to regain their lost year if they can reach their
degree requirements in four years, University of
Massachusetts guard Monty Mack has vowed to take
advantage.
 What Minutemen fan wouldn't love to have Monty Mack return in 2000-01? |
That would allow the Minutemen to retain their star guard through the 2000-2001 season. That, and the addition of junior college transfer Jovann Johnson, who also plays two-guard and the potential of Shannon Crooks to play off the ball has made recruiting at the position less critical than at some other spots.
Still the Minutemen are exploring the possibility of a few players at the shooting guard spot.
Eddie Starks is currently starring for Northwest Christian in Miami, Fla., but the 6-foot-3 high-scoring guard is originally from the Bronx, an area that UMass has been successful recruiting in the past. Former Minutemen Dana Dingle and Charlton Clarke as well as current center Kitwana Rhymer all came from the New York borough.
Pennsbury, N.J. native Torrian Jones's stellar academic portfolio has him looking at schools like Princeton and Pennsylvania as well as some Big East and Atlantic 10 schools including UMass.
UMass coach Bruiser Flint is friendly with some of Jones' relatives who have played at La Salle.
The addition of Indiana native Tony Barbee to the Minuteman coaching staff has helped open some Midwestern doors to the UMass recruiting efforts. Barbee, who starred at UMass from 1990-93, coached at Wyoming last year and recruited a wide stretch of territory for the Cowboys extending from Michigan to the Pacific Ocean.
His efforts have helped UMass get into position with C.J. Hill, a 6-3 combination guard from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. The lefty slasher has a long list of schools that includes UMass.
Sacramento native Jameel Pugh would also qualify as a Barbee-target. In addition to having a strong offensive game, Pugh reportedly takes pride in his defense, a trait that the UMass staff covets.
Material from interviews and a variety of recruiting publications was used in this story.
Note: This is the fourth is a series on University of Massachusetts summer recruiting. Today's installment focuses on centers.
nlike so many previous years, center won't be a primary focus on the recruiting agenda of the University of Massachusetts basketball team, but that doesn't mean the Minutemen won't add one.
Anthony Oates is the only pivotman scheduled to graduate after the upcoming season. The NCAA is considering granting an extra year of eligibility to any player that entered college as a nonqualifier, that lost a year to Prop. 48 regulations, if they can graduate in four years. That would give Minuteman Kitwana Rhymer two more years of eligibility after this one. If he gets another year, Rhymer and incoming freshman Micah Brand will become mainstays at the position for UMass.
Still some of the nation's top pivotmen are looking at UMass.
A pair of international players have landed in Massachusetts and both are considering UMass.
Neil Fingleton is originally from Great Britain but is currently at Holy Name in Worcester. At 7-foot-6 he has been nicknamed "Big Kingdom" due to his height an heritage. Local fans got a peek at the towering center in the State Semi-Finals when Holy Name played Holyoke, but Fingleton was suffering from an injury at the time and wasn't at full strength.
His play this summer has been impressive enough to attract some national attention including Ohio State and Wake Forest. He's also still considering Holy Cross as well as UMass.
The most intriguing player in the middle is Modibo Diarra, a center who originally hails from Africa, but had gotten significantly better since joining the Boston Amateur Basketball Club, an AAU program that has provided UMass with several current players.
Diarra, who plays for Notre Dame Academy in Fitchburg, has gotten interest from several top-level schools including Kentucky Louisville and Clemson, but BABC coach Leo Papile thinks the 6-9 pivotman will stay in New England. His raw knowledge of English might make qualifying academically a question mark.
UMass' new diligence in Midwest recruiting has harvested 7-foot-1 Chris Alexander as a target. The Harvey, Ill. native lists DePaul and Fresno State as well.
Sizeable 6-9 Fred Protho also has listed UMass, but his excess weight and lack of foot speed might be a drawback.
Material from interviews and a variety of recruiting publications was used in this story.
Note: The following is the fifth and final story in a series on University of Massachusetts summer recruiting. Today's installment focuses on point guards.
round the world, New York City is known for the Statue of Liberty, crazy cab drivers and
expensive deli sandwiches, among other things.
In the basketball world, New York City is renowned for its point guards. Over the years an impressive collection of floor and asphalt generals have emerged from the Big Apple and continued on to collegiate success. Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, Mark Jackson and a host of others have roots in Gotham.
When the high school basketball season begins in NYC this fall, one of the best collection of point guards the city has ever seen will be beginning their senior seasons. College coaches are already swarming.
Of the many point guards in New York, three have gotten the most attention. Diminutive Andre Barrett (5-foot-9) has already committed to Seton Hall, while Omar Cook and Taliek Brown remain top targets.
Brown, who hails from Astoria and attends St. John's Prep is among the University of Massachusetts' recruiting priorities. After trimming his list of schools from early in the summer, Brown speaks highly of the Minutemen and lists them among his top six. UMass is expected to get an in-home visit with the 6-foot-1 guard sometime next month.
Whether it's Brown or someone else, the Minutemen hope to add one point guard to the recruiting class that will arrive in Amherst for the 2000-01 season. The addition would allow UMass to use Shannon Crooks at shooting guard or as the third guard in three-guard sets at times later in his career after Monty Mack and Jovann Johnson graduate.
Michael Boynton doesn't get the same attention as his three New York brethren, but the 6-1 Brooklyn native is getting significant recruiting interest from top level schools including UMass, Michigan, Florida State and Stanford.
He averaged seven assists last season and six steals to go along with 16 points.
Fellow Brooklyn product Mike Sherrod (6-1), who can play either guard spot, has also listed the Minutemen among his top choices.
The Atlantic 10 has long been a hotbed of guards who don't reach six feet on the height chart. Many of the point guards UMass is considering would lengthen that list.
Closer to home, UMass is chasing Anthony Anderson (5-11), a resident of Lynn and an AAU teammate of fellow Minuteman target, forward Scott Hazelton on the Mass Wildcats. Anderson reportedly hasn't qualified and may head to prep school for a year to enhance his chances to attaining freshman eligibility standards.
Chester, Penn. High School point guard Jameer Nelson is a classic pass-first point guard who is capable of scoring. UMass is one of several Atlantic 10 schools that are hoping to land the 5-11 guard.
UMass is the only school east of the Mississippi River that made Long Beach (Calif.) native Wesley Stokes' short list. Recruiting publications have reported seeing UMass coach Tony Barbee at the 5-9 speedster's games.
Despite being 5-10, Gary, Ind. native Jason Carter can put on a dunking exhibition. His status for next season is unsure as the Indiana High School governing body has yet to rule on whether Carter has another year of eligibility left. If not, Carter is expected to attend prep school. In addition to UMass, he is considering several Midwestern schools including Purdue and Notre Dame.
If Marques Green opts for UMass, current Minuteman Jonathan DePina might have someone he can post-up in practice as his listed height (5-9) would give him three inches on the 5-6 Norristown, Penn. native. While Green can barely get on some amusement park rides, his quickness and shooting ability remind some of ex-George Washington guard Shawnta Rogers.
Barbee's ability to recruit in the Midwest has helped the Minutemen land on Tony Stockman's list of potential schools. The 6-1 Medina, Ohio native averaged 19 points and four assists as a junior. He is considering several Buckeye State schools and Nebraska along with UMass.
New Jersey native's James Lattimore and Arthur Barclay have also included the Minutemen among their college possibilities.
Material from interviews and a variety of recruiting publications was used in this story.
