The Big East's big bonanza

Sporting News, The, Jan 3, 2000 by Brick Oettinger

In Jeff Sagarin's power ratings and the college basketball RPI, the Big East ranks a not-so-big eighth among the nation's 31 conferences. But if this season's top recruiting classes can stay together for a couple of seasons, the Big East--which can lay claim to the three best fall recruiting classes--should move up quickly.

At St. John's, Mike Jarvis proved to be a recruiting powerhouse, and Seton Hall's Tommy Amaker has set himself up for a breakthrough year next season. Beyond those two, the rich got richer, with Connecticut, North Carolina and Michigan State rounding out the top five recruiting classes.

1. St. John's

Omar Cook         6-1    PG      Middle Village, N.Y./Christ
                                  the King
Kyle Cuffe        6-8    PF      Manhattan/Rice
Mohamed Diakite   6-11   C       Rockville, Md./Montrose Christian
                                  Academy
Eric King         6-7    SF/PF   Brooklyn, N.Y./Lincoln
Darius Miles      6-9    SF      East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis
Willie Shaw       6-5    SG/SF   Bronx, N.Y./Stevenson

On the final day of the November signing period, St. John's got the nod from close friends Darius Miles and Omar Cook, pushing the Red Storm to No. 1 in fall recruiting. Miles and Cook are the nation's No. 10 and No. 11 high school seniors, but there's a chance Miles will not qualify academically. If he's a partial qualifier, he can sit out one year and play in 2001-02. Miles needs more strength, but he's tremendously athletic and skilled, as is Cook, a superb playmaker/defender, who was turned down by North Carolina (which instead took 6-2 Adam Boone of Minnetonka High in Minnesota) before he opted for St. John's.

2. Seton Hall

Andre Barrett     5-8   PG      Manhattan, N.Y./Rice
Damian Fray       6-8   PF      Huntington Station, N.Y./Walt
                                 Whitman
Eddie Griffin     6-9   PF/SF   Philadelphia/Roman
Marcus Toney-El   6-6   SF/SG   West Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep

From a quality standpoint, Seton Hall and Connecticut fared essentially as well as St. John's. Of coach Tommy Amaker's four signees, three rank among the nation's top 40 players. Eddie Griffin is the potentially great one, but Andre Barrett and Marcus Toney-El are plenty good and almost certain to be immediate starters for The Hall.

3. Connecticut

Taliek Brown     6-1   PG      Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep
Caron Butler     6-7   SF/PF   Pittsfield, Maine/Maine Central
                                Institute
Scott Hazelton   6-8   SF      Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic

The key to Connecticut's recruiting was wrapping up 6-7, 230-pound combo forward Caron Butler, a highly talented fifth-year prep who had committed first to the Huskies and (reportedly) later to UNLV, where his former prep coach, Max Good, is an assistant coach.

4. North Carolina

Neil Fingleton      7-6   C    Worcester, Mass./Holy Name Catholic
Jason Parker        6-8   PF   Fork Union, Va./Fork Union
                                Milit. Aca.
Brian Morrison      6-2   G    Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington
Adam Boone          6-2   PG   Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka

Neil Fingleton, the nation's tallest prep player at 7-6 (and 303 pounds), actually signed and had notarized letters of intent for three schools--North Carolina, Wake Forest and Boston College--on the final day of the November signing period. Then he meditated 12 more days before reaching a decision and calling the involved coaches. Despite strong rumors that Wake Forest would get the nod, the lefthander from Great Britain ultimately picked North Carolina.

5. Michigan State

Zach Randolph   6-8   PF   Marion, Ind./Marion
Marcus Taylor   6-3   PG   Lansing, Mich./Waverly

The Spartans' signing class might be small, but it includes two of the top 10 players in the nation in Lansing local Marcus Taylor and 260-pound low-post presence Zach Randolph.

RELATED ARTICLE: Recruiting watch: Small forward

Brick Oettinger ranks the top 25 senior prospects

Rk.   Name                    Ht./Wt.

 1.   Gerald Wallace          6-7
 2.   Darius Miles            6-9
 3.   Caron Butler            6-6 1/2
 4.   Justin Reed             6-7
 5.   Scott Hazelton          6-8
 6.   Omar Weaver             6-7
 7.   Taurance Johnson        6-9
 8.   Nick Anderson           6-6
 9.   Marcus Toney-El         6-6
10.   Bernard Robinson        6-6
11.   Darius Rice             6-9
12.   Lou Wright              6-5 1/2
13.   Michael Joiner          6-7
14.   Rickey Paulding         6-5
15.   Terrence Crawford       6-6
16.   A.J. Moye               6-5
17.   Brandon Mouton          6-5 1/2
18.   Michael Bell            6-9
19.   Luke Whitehead          6-6
20.   Wayne Tinsley           6-5
21.   Corey Valsin            6-6
22.   Gerald Riley            6-6
23.   Omari Westley           6-7
24.   Brennan Martin          6-7
25.   Isaiah "Zeke" Johnson   6-7

Rk.   Name                    Town/High school (schools considering)

 1.   Gerald Wallace          Childersburg, Ala./Childersburg
                               (signed with Alabama)
 2.   Darius Miles            East St. Louis, Ill./East St. Louis
                               (signed with St. John's)
 3.   Caron Butler            Pittsfield, Maine/Maine Central Inst.
                               (signed with Connecticut)
 4.   Justin Reed             Jackson, Miss./Provine (signed with
                               Mississippi)
 5.   Scott Hazelton          Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic
                               (signed with Connecticut)
 6.   Omar Weaver             Largo, Md./Largo (Missouri, JC, prep)
 7.   Taurance Johnson        Philadelphia/Life Christian Aca. (JC,
                               prep, Mass., Duquesne, others)
 8.   Nick Anderson           Baton Rouge, La./Southern Lab (signed
                               with Texas A&M)
 9.   Marcus Toney-El         West Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep
                               (signed with Seton Hall)
10.   Bernard Robinson        New Hampton, N.H./New Hampton (signed
                               with Michigan)
11.   Darius Rice             Jackson, Miss./Lanier (Miss. St., Ky.,
                               Ark., Miami-Fla., Cincy, Mem.)
12.   Lou Wright              Memphis/Raleigh-Egypt (signed with
                               Memphis)
13.   Michael Joiner          Fayetteville, N.C./Seventy-First
                               (signed with Florida State)
14.   Rickey Paulding         Detroit/Renaissance (signed with
                                Missouri)
15.   Terrence Crawford       Oklahoma City/Bishop McGuinness
                               (signed with Oklahoma State)
16.   A,J. Moye               Atlanta/Westlake (signed with Indiana)
17.   Brandon Mouton          Lafayette, La./St. Thomas More (Texas,
                               JC, prep)
18.   Michael Bell            Raleigh, NC./Enloe (signed with NC
                               State)
19.   Luke Whitehead          Mouth of Wilson, Va./Oak Hill Aca.
                               (signed with Louisville)
20.   Wayne Tinsley           Salisbury, Conn./Salisbury School
                               (signed with Tulane)
21.   Corey Valsin            Port Arthur, Texas/Lincoln (signed
                               with Texas Christian)
22.   Gerald Riley            Milledgeville, Ga./Baldwin (signed
                               with Georgetown)
23.   Omari Westley           East Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw (JC, prep,
                               Fresno State)
24.   Brennan Martin          Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills
                               (signed with Texas A&M)
25.   Isaiah "Zeke" Johnson   Pittsfield, Maine/Maine Central
                               Inst. (prep, JC, Big East schools)