2012 BOB GIBBONS SPRING EVALUATION CLINIC, May 19-20, at Gateway YWCA, in Winston-Salem, NC. If your goal and dream is to earn a college basketball scholarship, this evaluation event is an excellent opportunity for you to upgrade your basketball skills and abilities, and to get national exposure. This is our 22nd year of conducting evaluation clinic that have benefited thousands of young men.
Bob’s Blog
February 28, 2012
McDonald’s All-American, 6-8 WF Devonta Pollard, DeKalb, MS, Kemper County H.S., is one of the nation’s top still undecided players. We spoke today with his mother, Mrs. Jesse Pollard. She said that Devonta is now focused upon completing his high school season, and, hopefully winning a state championship. He is averaging 24 ppg., 16 rpg., 5 blocks, and 3 assists this season. As far as colleges, according to Mrs. Pollard, her son is now considering six schools: Missouri, Mississippi State, Georgetown, Alabama, Texas and Kentucky. She would not reveal a favorite. He has made official visits to Texas and Missouri. Do not be surprised if Devonta stays “close to home” at Mississippi State.
One of the nation’s top “under the radar” seniors is Wake Forest signee, 6-9 dominating PF Devin Thomas (currently No. 50 in our 2012 Top 150, but moving up), Harrisburg, PA, Central Dauphin H.S. In a playoff game on Feburary 25, a loss to arch-rival Harrisburg H.S., Thomas had 39 points, 20 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He has averaged close to 30 ppg. This season. Look for Devin Thomas to be an immediate impact player and a major force for Coach Jeff Bzdelik’s Wake Forest Demon Deacons next year.
Our pick as the No. 1 player in the Class of 2012, unsigned 6-6 WF Shabazz Muhammad, scored 36 points to lead his Las Vegas Bishop Gorman H.S. team to the Nevada 4A State Championship. With his season now completed, Muhammad will likely speed up his college decision making. He visited Kentucky last October for Midnight Madness, and also made an official visit to Texas A&M. He was at Kansas last weekend for their memorable win over Missouri; and will be a Duke for their season finale against North Carolina on March 3. He may also visit Arizona and UCLA. Speculation has been that the Bruins were the strong favorites to get Muhammad; but, I’m not sure that is still the case. According to our West Coast “sources” the top three for Muhammad are Kentucky, UCLA and UNLV.
There have been some noteworthy recent player commitments including: No. 37 rated, 6-8 WF Winston Shepard, Henderson, NV, Findlay Prep, to San Diego State; No. 43 rated, 6-7 PF Ricardo Gathers, Reserve, LA, Riverside Academy to Baylor; No. 127, 6-8 PF Wannah Bail, and Top 200 prospect, 6-4 1/2G Michael Carey, teammates at Rosenburg, TX, Lamar Consolidated, both to Texas Tech; unheralded, but talented 6-9 C Damonte Dodd, Centreville, MD, Queen Anne’s County, to Maryland; under-the-radar, 6-5 G/F Chris Jones, Teaneck, NJ, H.S., to Pittsburgh; and in a “major recruiting coup,” Coach Eddie Biedenbach landed hard-nosed 6-8 PF Will Weeks, Arden, NC, Christ School, for his UNC-Asheville program.
###
Bob’s Blog
February 3, 2012
Class of 2013 Top 100 Player Ratings
Following are our player rankings for the Class of 2013 which constitute the nation’s top high school junior boys basketball players. We have to revise our list after our former No. 1 junior prospect, 6-10 C Nerlens Noel, Tilton, NH, Tilton School, decided to reclassify as a senior.
Moving up to the 2013 No. 1 ranking is 6-9 PF/C Julius Randle, Plano, TX, Prestonwood Christian Academy. Randle was the MVP of the prestigious City of Palms Tournament before Christmas. However, when we saw him after Christmas at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC, he did not perform as expected, and his team lost two games. The problem was Randle was trying to play on the perimeter instead of using his 240-pound athletic body to dominate in the paint. We are ranking him as the best junior on the basis of his potential and all-around abilities. Hopefully, he will just play in the high or low post, and take his game to the highest level. He has “Chris Webber type abilities,” and can become one of the best. His list of schools includes Baylor, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio State, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, and others.
Rated No. 2 is highly publicized 6-8 WF Jabari Parker, Chicago, IL, Simeon Career Academy. Some have lauded Parker as the nation’s top prospect regardless of class. Unfortunately, he has not performed at that level. Parker has advanced skills, and is an effective shooter from all ranges. However, he has added weight, and needs to work on his conditioning. On his lengthy college list are Duke, North Carolina, Illinois, Kansas, Washington, Michigan State, Kentucky, Northwestern, DePaul and others.
Our No. 3 prospect is 6-5 1/2G Andrew Harrison, and at No. 6 is twin brother, 6-5 2G Aaron Harrison, both at Richmond, TX, William B. Travis H.S. This dynamic duo form the nation’s best backcourt, and both are being highly recruited. Schools recruiting the twins are Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, Maryland, Georgetown, Texas, and Villanova.
At No. 4 is long, wiry 6-10 PF Chris Walker, Bonifay, FL, Holmes County H.S. Walker is a “John Henson-type’ forward, with long arms, and the ability to run the court really well. He needs to get stronger and add weight. His top colleges appear to be Kansas, Florida, Louisville, Kentucky, Florida State, Memphis, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Georgia.
Filling the No. 5 spot is athletic 6-8 P/WF Aaron Gordon, San Jose, CA, Archbishop Mitty H.S. Gordon is an explosive, high-flying athlete, and an intense competitor. We rate him the top West Coast prospect. His older brother, Drew Gordon, played at New Mexico. Aaron is also considering Coach Steve Alford’s Lobos. However, the current leaders, reportedly, are Washington and Arizona. Stanford, Kansas, and Oregon are also on his list.
Recruiting has intensified for the Class of 2013, and at this writing 29 of our Top 100 had verbally committed to a college.
For a complete list of our Class of 2013 Top 100 click on: www.bobgibbons.com/recruitingnews