The prep 2001 class

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

    TSN reviews the five big men (Curry, Chandler, Cisse, Diop and
Brown) and a half-dozen others from the prep 2001 class, any of whom
might declare for next year's draft. For a while now, Oettinger has been
calling this class the best in two decades.

    Better hold onto those draft picks, Pitino!

---------

Class of 2001 looks to be outstanding
JUNE 29, 2000
Brick Oettinger
The Sporting News

Since November of 1996, we've had the distinct pleasure of working for
The Sporting News' website and its wonderful personnel. Sadly, all
things must come to an end.

This is our final contribution. The past 43 months have been most
enjoyable for us. We hope our readers can say the same thing.

We mentioned two weeks ago that our next contribution would focus on the
rising high school and prep school seniors, who comprise the Class of
2001. Ever since we first observed the elite Class of 2001 prospects two
or even three years ago, we've stated publicly that this class could be
the deepest and most talented since the best high school class of
all-time, the incredible Class of 1979. We still believe that to be
true.

In case your memory needs to be jogged a bit, the prep Class of 1979
featured Ralph Sampson, Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins,
Sam Bowie, Clark Kellogg, Terry Cummings, Steve Stipanovich, Antoine
Carr, Derrick Hord, Thurl Bailey, Ricky Ross, John Paxson and many
others who became blue chip collegiate performers. That class contained
great size and sensational athletes, but so does the Class of 2001!

Under revised NCAA rules in effect this year, the first day that college
coaches could telephone Class of 2001 prospects at home was June 21
(....)Of course, given recent trends in high school basketball,
collegiate staffs may well be wasting their time and money to telephone
some of the very best prospects, who are at least as likely to enter the
2001 NBA draft directly out of high school as they are to attend college
(for a year or two?) at all.

In the Class of 2001, this definitely appears to apply to 6-11,
290-pound center Eddy Curry of South Holland (Ill.) Thornwood and 7-1,
220-pound center Tyson Chandler of Compton (Cal.) Dominguez. Both have
"future superstar" written all over them in capital letters.

Curry has all the physical tools and basketball skills to become "the
next Shaquille O'Neal," though he must play with intensity all of the
time and not just when he feels particularly challenged. The best
individual play we've seen this spring came from Curry at the Show-Me
Shootout in Columbia, Mo.

In the championship game he rose high to catch an off-line alley-oop
pass with his huge right hand and, while with his left arm fending off
6-10, 250-pound Robert Whaley's forceful attempt to push him out of
bounds, slammed the ball through the basket backhanded (a' la' Michael
Jordan in an NBA dunk contest) on his way back down to the floor! No
words can do justice to this play; you had to see it to fully appreciate
its magnificence, especially for a 290-pound 17-year old!

Chandler isn't nearly as heavy or as strong as Curry, but he has a very
soft touch on his jump shot to 15 feet, runs the court like a gazelle,
and makes great use of his lateral quickness to block tons of shots. If
he works hard to develop a reliable jump hook (which Curry already has)
or perhaps a sky hook, Tyson just might become another Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar. There certainly are a lot of similarities at the same
stage!

Still others in the prep Class of 2001 might also realistically enter
the NBA draft next year despite currently denying that possibility. In
this category are four other prospects with superstar potential -- 6-3
Camden (N.J.) High point guard/wing guard Dajuan Wagner (who has already
given a very early verbal commitment to Memphis), 6-4 Flint (Mich.)
Northwestern wing guard Kelvin Torbert (Michigan State tops his
collegiate list), 6-11, 235-pound Brunswick (Ga.) Glynn Academy power
forward Kwame Brown (who committed last summer to Florida), and 6-7 York
(Pa.) Crispus Attucks small forward James White (North Carolina and Duke
are the co-favorites to corral him).

Wagner's father Milt, a former Louisville All-American, is on John
Calipari's staff at Memphis despite not having a baccalaureate degree
(he continues to work toward it). Regardless, if Dajuan plays as well
this summer and next season as he is capable, he could easily wind up an
NBA lottery pick with an offer he can't refuse! He's a relentless
scoring machine who can get a good shot at will against any individual
defender (including extra-quick St. John's-bound Omar Cook from New York
City) we've seen him matched up with at the high school level.

Torbert, like Wagner and former college and NBA superstars named Jordan
and Thompson (not John), hangs in the air until mortal defenders descend
to earth and then flicks in smooth mid-range jump shots. He's also
physically strong, hits some 3-pointers, and handles the ball plenty
well for a wing guard.

Brown is very quick and may dribble and pass the ball better than any
6-11 player to play the game, but he must hone his jumpshot and
free-throw stroke considerably in order to have a good chance of
ultimately reaching his enormous potential. Slender White's sensational
athleticism, smooth jumpshot and solid ballhandling skills remind us a
lot of Vince Carter, and James is already taller than Carter!

Still others who might conceivably enter the 2001 NBA draft straight out
of high school are 6-9 1/2, 235-pound Montgomery (Ala.) St. Jude
center/power forward Ousmane Cisse, a superbly athletic native of Mali
whose less talented, 6-9 older brother Daouda signed this spring with
Louisville; gifted and aggressive 6-1 point guard Jonathan Hargett, a
Highland Springs (Va.) resident who is expected to transfer across town
in Durham (N.C.) this fall from Mount Zion Christian Academy (where he
starred last season) to Emanuel Full Gospel; and rapidly improving 7-0,
265-pound Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy center DeSagana Diop,
who hails from Senegal and has Virginia at the apex of his collegiate
list. Each is extremely promising.

Cisse is strong around the basket and runs extremely well, but his post
moves and turnaround jumpshot require polish. Hargett is a flashy
performer with loads of skills; however, his shot-selection and
decision-making are not ideal for a point guard. Down the road, Diop
might turn out to be as good as anyone in the class. He seems to have
grown another inch every time we see him, and the progress of his jump
shot and jump hook during the past year has been stunning.

If you're seeking someone whose national stock is really on the rise,
6-8, 240-pound Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas power forward
Ed Nelson is your man -- make that MAN. At the USA Basketball Men's
Youth Development Festival last week at the U.S. Olympic Training Center
in Colorado Springs (Colo.), Nelson led all participants in scoring and
rebounding.

In his showdown matchup with equally strong 6-8 power forward Elton
Brown of Newport News (Va.) Warwick, Nelson was totally dominant,
amassing 41 points and 16 boards! Now everyone knows about him, and more
than a score of coaches from big-time college programs have called him
this week.

Two perimeter scorers from the Northeast whose reputations have
flourished this spring are 6-2 Ernest Turner from Somerdale (N.J.)
Sterling and rangy 6-5 Julius Hodge of Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond's. Both
are natural wing guards who have posted big numbers in recent club team
competition.

Turner averaged 38.7 points with a high game of 55 in the Tournament of
Champions, held in the Triangle area (Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh) of
North Carolina, while Hodge was the third-lading scorer in the same
event. Ernest is hearing from an assortment of Big East, Pacific-10 and
Atlantic-10 schools. Julius has narrowed the field to North Carolina,
Florida, North Carolina State, Syracuse and Maryland. All five have
offered him a scholarship, and he plans to make official campus visits
this fall before reaching a collegiate decision.

Some sources claim that 6-7 Miami (Fla.) Northwest Christian combination
forward Rafael Luis, a member of the Puerto Rican Junior National Team,
is among the very best prospects in the rising senior class. We look
forward to observing him in the next few weeks and drawing our own
conclusions. Once the major July camps and tournaments begin, no doubt
others will challenge for elite consideration within the power-packed
prep Class of 2001.