Big 12 leads recruiting charge
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? By Bill Hodge
FANSonly.com

Dominating the 1999-2000 college basketball recruiting season, the Big 12 has
five teams in the top 15 men's classes following the late signing period.

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The spring signing period ran from April 12 to May 15. Use FANSonly.com's
databases to find all the signings for your favorite school.
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Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Missouri and Iowa State all had outstanding
recruiting campaigns.
Overall results are pending as signed scholarships continue to arrive
following the final signing day on May 15. Financial aid agreements (binding
schools, but not athletes) may still be signed. Eligibility problems are
common and will affect final rankings as well.
Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State head up the top of the Big Ten, while
Connecticut, Seton Hall and St. John's collected impressive classes in the
Big East. North Carolina headed the ACC and Cincinnati topped Conference-USA,
while Memphis, under new head coach John Calipari, finished strong. Alabama
leads the SEC.
If you're looking for pure size, 7-foot-6 center Neil Fingleton, a native of
England who attended Worchester-Holy Name Central Catholic, Mass., signed
with North Carolina. Curtis Johnson, a 7-4 center from Norfolk-Ryan Academy,
Va., is set for St. John's. However, neither will play early roles.
1. Connecticut
F Caron Butler,6-7, Pittsfield-Maine Central Institute, Maine
G Taliek Brown, 6-1, Astoria-St. John's Prep, N.Y.
F Scott Hazelton, 6-8, Lawrence-Central Catholic, Mass.
F Johnnie Selvie, 6-7, Flint, Mich/Southeastern CC, Iowa
G Robert Swain, 6-4, College Park-Tri-Cities, Ga.
The Huskies have an outstanding class, adding a top junior college player in
Selvie, plus Swain during the spring. Coach Jim Calhoun had to worry about
signing Butler, the top prep school prospect in the nation, at the last
minute over UNLV. Brown and Hazelton are both McDonald's All-Americans and
potential stars, but all attempts by the UConn staff of signing a big man
failed. Brown is physical and a scorer. Hazleton is a smooth wing player.
2. Seton Hall
F Eddie Griffin, 6-8, Philadelphia-Roman Catholic, Pa.
G Andre Barrett, 5-8, Manhattan-Rice, N.Y.
G Marcus Toney-El, 6-6, West Orange-Seton Hall Prep, N.J.
F Damion Fray, 6-8, Huntington Station-Whitman, N.Y.
Coach Tommy Amaker has this program on the way up and added three Top 50
players in Griffin (considered by many as the top prospect in nation),
Barrett and Toney-El. All three should step into the starting lineup or find
extensive playing time off the bench.
3. Oklahoma
F James Wright, 6-6, Winchendon School, Mass.
F Johnnie Gilbert, 6-7, Minneapolis-Patrick Henry, Minn.
F Aaron McGhee, 6-8, Vincenness JC, Ind.
F Daryan Selvy, 6-6, Carl Albert JC, Okla.
C Ronnie Griffin, 6-9, Tallahassee CC, Fla.
G Blake Johnston, 6-1, Midland, Texas
F Joszef Szendrei, 6-9, Northeastern JC, Colo.
Coach Kelvin Sampson landed athletes who can run and rebound with power.
McGhee and Selvy are first-team junior college All-American forwards and both
Griffin and Szendrei are very strong inside. Wright and Gilbert were highly
rated preps.
4. Oklahoma State
F David Anderson, 6-8, Hargrave Military Academy, Va.
G/F Terrence Crawford, 6-6, Oklahoma City-Bishop McGuinness, Okla.
G Ellis Kidd, 6-5, Dallas-Madison, Texas
C Jack Marlow, 6-11, Tulsa-Union, Okla.
F Ivan McFarlin, 6-7, Sugar Land-Willowridge, Texas
G Maurice Baker, 6-1, Dixie JC, Utah
G Melvin Sanders, 6-5, Seward CC, Kan.
Coach Eddie Sutton is very high on Sanders, McFarlin and Crawford. Marlow
weighs 285 pounds. Kidd can light it up and Anderson is very quick for 6-8.
Baker and Sanders were Spring additions and can score.
5. Iowa
C Jared Reiner, 6-11, Tripp-Delmont, S.D.
F Glen Worley, 6-8, Iowa City-West, Iowa
G Brody Boyd, 5-10, Dugger-Union, Ind.
F Courtney Scott, 6-6, Lansing-Waverly, Mich.
F Sean Sonderleiter, 6-9, Des Moines-Christian, Iowa
F Reggie Evans, 6-8, Pensacola-Woodham, Fla/Coffeyville CC, Kan.
Guard Luke Recker and guard Ryan Hogan, both redshirt transfers, also join
the Hawkeyes. This is one of the top Hawkeye classes ever, as coach Steve
Alford signed a highly rated center in Reiner (who passed on UConn and
Kansas), a top forward in Worley and an unbelievable shooter in Boyd. Evans
is considered a top junior college prospect at power forward and Hogan played
at Kentucky before transferring. The huge prize is Recker, who transferred to
Arizona from Indiana and then moved to Iowa in order to be nearer his family
and girlfriend, who was seriously injured in a car accident. After an appeal,
the NCAA allowed eligibility this fall. Recker averaged 16 points as a
sophomore for the Hoosiers and was third-team all-Big Ten. The Hawkeyes
already have a junior committment from one of the top guards in the nation,
Pierre Pierce of Westmont, Ill.
6. St. John's
G Omar Cook, 6-1, Middle Village-Christ the King, N.Y.
F Kyle Cuffe, 6-8, Manhattan-Rice, N.Y.
C Mohammed Diakite, 6-11, Rockville-Montrose Christian Academy, Md.
G Willie Shaw, 6-6, Bronx-Stevenson, N.Y.
C Curtis Johnson, 7-4, Norfolk-Ryan Academy, Va.
Forward Alpha Bangura and center Abe Keita are coming off redshirt years,
which makes coach Mike Jarvis' list of fresh faces even bigger. Jarvis had
corralled a super class, perhaps best in the nation, but the key was F Darius
Miles, 6-9, East St. Louis, Ill. A do-everything player generally rated among
the top three prospects in the country, Miles turned to the NBA rather than
attend St. John's. Without him, this group tumbles a few notches from their
No. 1 ranking after the early signing period. Cook is dynamic and Diakite
could the Red Storm's best center in years. Both have great basketball bodies
and athleticism. Johnson was a late addition and is considered a project. F
Eric King, 6-7, Brooklyn-Lincoln, NY., had entrance problems.
7. Cincinnati
F Jamaal Davis, 6-8, Purdue/Barton County CC, Kan.
F Rod Flowers, 6-8, Huntsville, Ala.
G Field Williams, 6-3, Houston-Waltrip, Texas
F Antwan Jones, 6-8, Tallahassee CC, Fla.
G Immanuel McElroy, 6-4, Tyler JC, Tex.
Reloading, the Bearcats have a great class with junior college standouts
Jones, McElroy and Davis. Davis played at Purdue before transferring. Flowers
and Williams are promising. National-quality guard/forward Jerome Harper of
Columbia, S.C., had his letter withdrawn due to off-court/entrance problems
and will attend junior college.
8. Texas
G/F Brandon Mouton, 6-5, Lafayette-St. Thomas More, La.
C/F Brian Boddicker, 6-9, Duncanville, Texas
C Jason Klotz, 6-11, Houston-Klein Forest, Texas
F James Thomas, 6-8, Hargrave Military Academy, Va.
G Fredie Williams, 6-2, Mississippi Delta CC, Miss.
G Royal Ivey, 6-3, Blairstown, N.J.
This group, powered by big men wanting to play for coach Rick Barnes, is one
of the nation's best. Thomas is tough and Boddicker was rated the best
propect in the state. Both should get playing time with the departure of
center Chris Mihm to the NBA. Purdue wanted Mouton badly, as he is a major
offensive threat. Other keys are Ivey, Williams and Klotz.
9. Indiana
F Jared Jeffries, 6-10, Bloomington-North, Ind.
F/G A.J. Moye, 6-5, Atlanta-Westlake, Ga.
G Andre Owens, 6-3, Indianapolis-Meridian, Ind.
F Mike Roberts, 6-8, New Hampton-Prep, N.H.
Coach Bob Knight and the Hoosiers shocked Duke by signing Jeffries, one of
the best forwards in the nation, and all four prospects are top quality. Moye
is a physical player and suited for the Big Ten wars, and Owens and Roberts
are very tough. Jeffries, a huge believer in Knight, threatened to transfer
if the veteran coach had been fired.
10. Michigan State
G Marcus Taylor, 6-3, Lansing-Waverly, Mich.
F Zach Randolph, 6-8, Marion, Ind.
Spartan followers can't complain about a class with the top guard and
center/forward in the nation. Higher-rated schools just had more prospects.
Taylor is outstanding and should see time early. Randolph, still not
qualified, is a widebody who dominated prep all-star play and could be the
Spartans' best post player in recent years.