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Apr. 13, 2008: InsideHoops will provide full coverage of the 2008 Jordan All-American Classic. Check this page and our Jordan page regularly all week.

Apr. 12, 2008: The Nike Hoops Summit is in the books. Fueled by seven points from Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall H.S./ North Hollywood, Calif.), the USA posted an 11-0 run over the first four minutes of the third quarter to open a comfortable 54-42 lead and then rolled on to a comfortable 98-78 victory over the World Select Team in the 11th Nike Hoop Summit held Saturday at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. The USA's 20-point margin of victory tied the game's record for victory margin. The 20 point differential has also been equaled on two other occasions, 100-80 in 2007 and 99-79 in the 2004 game. Read.

Feb. 24, 2008: Initial info for the 2008 Nike Hoop Summit is up.

Feb. 19, 2008: Initial info for the 2008 Jordan All-American Classic is up.

Jan. 15, 2008

Oak Hill, Patterson School register routs in Hickory -- ESPN/Scouts Inc (Bob Gibbons) reports: Two nationally-ranked basketball powerhouses most definitely proved themselves last night, crushing their overmatched opponents in what was billed as National Basketball Night in Hickory. The No. 1-rated prep school Patterson School (Lenoir, N.C.) continued its undefeated streak (22-0) with an event-opening 111-56 trouncing of newly-formed Charlotte Technical School (Charlotte, N.C.). In the second game ESPN's current No. 11-rated Oak Hill Academy Warriors (18-3) gave Coach Steve Smith career victory 702 while cruising to a 90-63 win over undersized, but scrappy host team Hickory High. Unsigned 6-3 senior second guard Varez Ward led Patterson's very balanced offensive attack with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Arkansas signee and our pick as the nation's best post-graduate player, 6-1 PG Courtney Fortson, again played a masterful game, leading his team with 8 assists, 6 steals and 16 points in only 18 minutes of playing time.


Jan. 10, 2008

We have posted 2008 Prime Time Shootout info. And here's what the organizers say: The February 2008 event will feature 16 of the top 25 teams in the country, including Oak Hill Academy where high school and college phenom and NBA star Carmelo Anthony excelled during his high school career. Oak Hill Academy finished the 2007 season ranked #1 in the United States by USA Today and annually draws a large crowd and media presence wherever they travel. Their #1 ranking will be highly contested in 2008 by some of New Jersey’s finest basketball programs, namely, St. Anthony’s, St. Patrick’s and St. Benedict’s, all of whom will be playing at Rutgers University on Friday, February 8th, 2008. For four days, the Prime Time Shootout will draw over 30,000 spectators to the Pavilion on the campus of Villanova, to the RAC on the campus of Rutgers and to the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J. The annual event attracts top print, broadcast, and web-based media. Negotiations are being completed to include live broadcast coverage by ESPN and Comcast (CN-8) of as many as five (5) PrimeTime Shootout match-ups for the 2008 event.


Dec. 24 High School Basketball News

High School Hoop reports: The championship game of the Amare Stoudemire Invitational Classic in Davenport, Fla., pitted two of California’s top teams and most talented players against each other: Compton’s Dominguez H.S., led by junior small forward Jordan Hamilton, against L.A.’s Fairfax H.S., led by junior big man Renardo Sidney. Coming off a performance earlier in the tournament where he dominated sophomore sensation Jeremy Tyler (San Diego H.S.), Sidney was looking equally unstoppable in the ‘chip. Going into the fourth quarter he’d put up 22 points and 12 rebounds. But early in the quarter, Sidney picked up two technical fouls (the second was very questionable according to many observers) and was ejected.


Dec. 23 High School Basketball News

ESPN.com reports: After a few recruiting losses, chalk up a big victory for the Illinois basketball program. Next season, Illini coach Bruce Weber will be welcoming heralded Kentucky transfer Alex Legion to Champaign, according to a published report. Legion chose Illinois over Notre Dame.

Dec. 22

Rivals (Justin Young) reports: The City of Palms closed out with a pair of amazing performances from two of the best guards in the tournament and St. Benedict's did something that no team from New Jersey has ever done. The nation's No. 1 team won the entire tournament... ive-star senior Samardo Samuels was named tournament Most Valuable Player after his 20 point (7-16 FG, 6-8 FT) performance in the championship game. Guards Tamir Jackson and Scott Machado both scored 12 points in the game. Junior big man Greg Echenique ripped down 17 amazing rebounds and super sophomore Tristan Thompson came off the bench and had a brilliant performance. The 6-foot-8 spider like big man scored 12 points on five of five shooting and a pair of free throws and grabbed five rebounds.

Grassroots Ballin reports: Class of 2009 Standout Kenny Boynton scored a tournament record 61 points in his team’s morning victory over Dunbar, FL.

Rivals (Jerry Meyer) reports: Jordan Hamilton was the man of the night and fellow Southern Californian Renardo Sidney was awful good as well. Due largely to their efforts the championship game of the Amare Stoudemire Invitational Classic will be the battle of Los Angeles... On the game Hamilton scored 25 points on 9 of 20 shooting, 4 of 10 from three and 3 of 4 from the line to go along with eight rebounds, two blocks, one steal and zero turnovers... A 2009 five-star prospect, Hamilton is down to Texas, Connecticut, Syracuse, California and USC. He had these comments about his favorite school Texas.

Dec. 21

Grassroots Ballin reports: Renardo Sidney helped his team to a blowout victory at the Amare Stoudmire tournament in FL last night. This game was hyped up to be a huge match up with Renardo Sidney (2009) vs. Jeremy Tyler (2010), but it didn’t get a chance to live up to it. Renardo Sidney scored 32 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists in the win and Jeremy Tyler finished with 0 points.

Dec. 16 High School Basketball News

GrassRoots Ballin reports: On Saturday night Benedictine,VA pulled a big upset of Oak Hill,VA 73 to 72. This game was close throughout with each making little runs that each other answered. This game matched up UNC signee Ed Davis against another elite prospect from the class of 2008 in Arizona signee Brandon Jennings. Each player stepped up in this game to lead there teams in scoring with Davis finishing with 25 points and Jennings a game high 40 points.

Dec. 14 High School Basketball News

Scout.com reports: Michael Snaer, the 6-4 junior shooting guard from Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde, is a the #64-ranked player in the national class of 2009 and one of the best guards in the west for 2009.

CSTV reports: Freshman forward Clayton Vette of Waverly/Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa, is transfering from Iowa State. He was named Iowa Mr. Basketball as a high school senior last season. Freshman guard Marcus Brister of Dallas-God's Academy, Tex., had also recently announced he was leaving the Cyclones.

Rivals.com reports: Two of the best seniors in the Ocean View Tournament of Champions traded buckets on Wednesday night and put a stamp on the event in dramatic fashion... For starters, Klay Thompson isn't just good. He's really good and he is getting better and better. Every year there are a handful of players that seem to enter the college level on the up swing. Thompson is looking like one of those guys... Thompson scored 38 points (13-19 FG, 7-8 FT) and never once took a bad shot or seemed rattled by the intensity of a close game... After scoring a career high 38 points on Tuesday night, Demar Derozan came back out for his encore on Wednesday. Derozan scored 25 points (11-16 FG, 3-3 FT), collected seven rebounds, grabbed five steals and had three steals against Bakersfield... Playing in his first game of the season, unsigned big man Edgar Garibay scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots for Compton.

Dec. 10 High School Basketball News

The New York Daily News (Dick Weiss) reports: Is Derrick Caracter really worth all the trouble he has caused? Louisville’s 6-8 sophomore may be a talent - maybe even a future pro - but he can’t seem to abide by Rick Pitino’s simple team rules. Pitino suspended Caracter - the former St. Pat’s of Elizabeth and Notre Dame, Mass. Prep star- indefinitely for a curfew violation yesterday. Caracter, who will move out of the dormitory where he lives with rest of the team, has had a series of run-ins with Pitino since he arrived on campus last season. He was sent home to Scotch Plains, N.J. briefly almost a year ago. The team, not Pitino, decided on the suspension, according to the coach. Pitino said he wanted to suspend Caracter - who is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and averages 7.4 rpg- before last Saturday’s loss to Dayton, but gave in to players’ requests to play him.

Rivals.com reports: It's been a roller coaster year for five-star 2009 prospect DeMarcus Cousins after being ruled ineligible at Clay-Chalkville High School and then being on again off again at LeFlore High School after moving to Mobile, Ala. It does look like it is on again, however, as Cousins, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward is expected to play Tuesday night for LeFlore.

Rivals.com reports: Four-star 2009 prospect Jon Hood is off to a strong start for his undefeated Madisonville (Ky.) North Hopkins team, and coaches are watching.

Dec. 8 High School Basketball News

GrassRootsBallin reports that in the 2K Sports All-American Shootout, American Christian, (PA) detroyed IMG Academy, (FL), Lincoln, (NY) destroyed St. Xavier, (KY) in a 56 to 36 blowout, Lincoln's Lance Stephenson missed the game, and later on Tyreke Evans scored 46 (18-of-27) with 6 steals, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. And Lamont Jones had 33 points. Jared Swopshire had 33 with 12 rebounds.

Dec. 7 High School Basketball News

Scout.com reports: Jeff Reynolds’ Air Force Falcons won a recruiting battle with Hawaii recently and added power forward Sam Schaffer to their current 2008 recruiting class. The 6-foot-9 Oregon City (Ore.) High product visited Hawaii but was excited about the prospects of playing for the Falcons according to his father, Jay Schaffer.

NY Daily News reports: Villanova freshman guard Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn Robeson wanted to play for Jay Wright so badly he was willing to do a fifth year at the Winchendon School in Massachusetts. He stuck by his commitment even after high-profile recruits Corey Fisher of St. Pat’s and Corey Stokes of St. Benedict signed, knowing they would both bite into his playing time. But, as we are quickly discovering, the fearless Grant may be more prepared to make a big impact than those two former high school stars form North Jersey at this point. He certainly made one Thursday night when he poured in 13 of his 18 points in the final three minutes as the seemingly lethargic 25th-ranked ‘Cats (6-1) stormed back from a 21-point deficit in the final 8:45 to defeat LSU, 68-67, in the feature game of the Big Est-SEC invitational down at the Wachovia Center in Philly.

CSTV reports: 6-5 guard Chris Turner of Humble-Christian Life, Tex., has committed to Oregon State.

Rivals.com reports: The top prospect in the class of 2009 Renardo Sidney is off to a blazing start for his new high school, and Los Angeles Fairfax head coach Harvey Kitani couldn't be happier about the way Sidney is fitting in with his new team.

Dec. 6 High School Basketball News

Brandon Jennings, of Oak Hill Academy, had 45 points Wednesday in a blowout win over Booker T. Washington, according to GrassRootsBallin.

Rivals.com reports: After being a dominant force on the travel circuit in the spring, 2009 five-star prospect Reeves Nelson saw limited action in the summer with an inflamed foot tendon.

Dec. 5, 2007

HighSchoolHoop reports: 6-9 PF Derrick Favors went ballistic last night in South Atlanta’s 80-48 win, recording a triple-double with 24 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks and 4 steals against North Clayton. Justin Young of Georgia Hoops noted that one scout said that Favors is more skilled than Dwight Howard was at his age.

Dec. 3, 2007

The 2008 PrimeTime Shootout is February 1 at Villanova University, Feb. 8 at Rutgers University, Feb. 9 somewhere in Trenton, NJ, and Feb. 10 also somewhere in Trenton. Here's the official announcement: The February 2008 event will feature 16 of the top 25 teams in the country, including Oak Hill Academy where high school and college phenom and NBA star Carmelo Anthony excelled during his high school career. Oak Hill Academy finished the 2007 season ranked #1 in the United States by USA Today and annually draws a large crowd and media presence wherever they travel. Their #1 ranking will be highly contested in 2008 by some of New Jersey's finest basketball programs, namely, St. Anthony's, St. Patrick's and St. Benedict's, all of whom will be playing at Rutgers University on Friday, February 8th, 2008.

Dec. 2, 2007

HssMTV reports: On Day 2 of the National Prep Showcase at Apex Academy we got a chance to check out some of the top prep players and teams in the land. We covered 3 of the 5 games today and here are the players that caught our eye. Tyreke Evans 6’6 Guard (American Christian)-Evans burned Summit for 50 points and 15 rebounds in his teams route. The scoring is something that we have grown accustom to with Tyreke, but the maturity of his overall game is very noticeable. Evans has packed muscle unto his frame, doesn’t seem to take many difficult shots and really worked hard on defense while also chasing down loose balls. This effort sparked his teammates and propelled the Eagles to a lopsided victory. His scoring came of long strokes (6 treys), slicing drives and moving without the rock. Evans also turned many of his offensive rebounds into buckets.

August 25, 2007

Elite 24 Hoops Classic -- The second annual Elite 24 Hoops Classic went down outdoors at Rucker Park. The All-Star game features 24 of the best high school basketball players in the country. Naturally, InsideHoops.com was in the house. Check the full preview, and full recap.

April 21, 2007

Jordan Classic -- The 2007 Jordan Classic basketball game took place Saturday April 21 in Madison Square Garden. It was a fun show. Team Yellow, who got 16 points from both Eric Gordan and Kyle Singler, beat Team Royal, who got 20 points from Donte Greene and 17 points from Jerryd Bayless. The final score was 127-119, Yellow victorious. More on the Jordan Classic.

April 7, 2007

Nike Hoop Summit -- The USA Basketball Junior National Select Team, featuring American high school basketball star players, went on a 16-0 run in the opening five minutes of the second quarter, relying on opportunistic scoring and strong interior defense, to build a comfortable 40-13 lead, and from that point cruised to an easy 100-80 victory over the World Select Team in the 10th Nike Hoop Summit held Saturday at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. The 20-point margin of victory, which equals the previous record (99-79) set in the 2004 game that was played in San Antonio, Texas, enabled the USA to win its sixth straight Nike Hoop Summit and build an 8-2 lead in the series. In victory, USA Basketball reached the 100 point mark for the third consecutive game and its fifth in the last seven. Even though the Junior National Select Team placed five players in double figures, led by guard O.J. Mayo's (Huntington H.S./Huntington, WV) team-high 20 points, the storyline of the game wasn't necessarily offense, but defense. Full Nike Hoop Summit details.

August 28, 2006

Elite 24 Hoops Classic -- The first-ever annual Elite 24 Hoops Classic, featuring 24 of the best high school basketball players in the country, will take place Friday, September 1 at Harlem's Rucker Park in New York City. The 2006 Elite 24 Hoops Classic will feature the best high school players regardless of class. There are several high school all-star games that feature seniors but no one else. The July sneaker-sponsored high school camps feature the best players, but they all happen at the same time so the players are divided up between the three camps. The goal of the Elite 24 is to bring them all together for one game, and not in a gym but outside in the most famous basketball court in the country. Kevin Love, Bill Walker, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, Lance Stephenson and 16 other players will take court.

May 10, 2006

King James Shooting Stars Classic -- The King James Shooting Stars Classic, featuring high school basketball stars, took place last week, and InsideHoops.com's main man Santosh was in the house to tell you about an amazing O.J. Mayo-Tyreke Evans battle that went down.

April 22, 2006

Paul Harris interview and profile -- Interview, profile and analysis of Paul Harris, one of the country's top high school basketball players. Harris is a guard, yet built like a power forward. Story by Patrick Stevens.

April 9, 2006

Roundball Classic -- The 2006 Roundball Classic was April 9th in Chicago. Greg Oden and Daequan Cook rocked the house. InsideHoops.com was there and presents a full recap.

More on the Classic: practice report.

Malcolm Pope Interview
[High School Players] Meet this Blair Academy (NJ) point guard. [Oct 4]

Taj Gibson Interview
[High School] InsideHoops.com talks with a California forward who put up 21 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks per game last season. [Aug 16]

Greg Oden Interview
[High School] A talk with the best high school big man in the country, from the Reebok ABCD camp. [July 8]