The firsts of many for the class of 2007

Sporting News, The, July 21, 2006 by Mike DeCourcy

The first day of the NCAA's July recruiting period has become one of America s sporting rituals, although not as universal--and certainly not as much of a spectacle--as baseball's opening day or the NCAA Tournament's first 48 hours.

In gymnasiums across the country, college coaches were permitted to begin observing and evaluating prospects who will be part of recruiting classes for the next several years.

Some of us spent those first few hours of an absurdly pleasant Midwestern summer day on the campus of IUPUI at the Nike All-America Camp.

First player to 'blow up'

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In the peculiar version of the English language spoken by prep recruiting analysts, "blowing up" is a good thing. On Day 1 at Nike, 7-1 center Solomon Alabi, a native of Nigeria who attends Montverde Academy in Florida, did just that.

Alabi averaged only 8.2 points and 6.3 rebounds last season and was ranked at the low end of the top 100 by scouts. But Vince Baldwin of regional service PrepSpotlight counted 13 blocks for Alabi in the day's first game, and Alabi closed out his night shift by snuffing an attempt at a game-winning layup by gifted wing Chris Wright.

Alabi mentioned Florida State, Saint Joseph's and Virginia were recruiting him. Kentucky also has noticed. Those programs will not be alone.

First coach in line

The first name posted on Nike's wall chart of college coaches arriving at this year's camp is relatively new: Shaka Smart, who became an assistant at Clemson in the spring.

Although the sessions on fundamentals--first on the schedule--didn't begin until 9 a.m., Smart was at the gym at 7:45. He wanted to get the camp roster as early as possible in order to organize scouting assignments for himself and head coach Oliver Purnell.

Being new to the job, after moving over from Akron, Smart could have been trying to show Purnell how hard he will work to help attract great players. He insists that wasn't the case.

"You kind of learn along the way that in recruiting," Smart says, "the more organized you can be, the better it's going to work out for you."

First tip from a scout

On my way into the gym, I ran into Ron Briscoe, who is responsible for the Southern-based Regional Basketball Report and Scouting Service. He raved about 7-0 Ohio State recruit Kosta Koufos and compared him to Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki.

Now, I'd seen Koufos a couple times before.

Or so I thought.

The new, improved version is a markedly different player. Koufos gained about 30 pounds, up to 252, through weightlifting after a foot injury cut short his junior season at Glen Oak High School in Canton, Ohio. On the first possession of his first game, he executed a difficult move along the left baseline, turning into his right shoulder and nailing a 14-foot jumper.

"I try to base my game like a European player," Koufos says. That's fitting for someone pondering whether to join the Greek national team, But Koufos also worked hard to be effective in the post, something many international players don't do because the trapezoid-style lane discourages inside play.

"Having the shot and the post moves, it's pretty hard to guard." he adds.

First Huntington native to make an impression

Huntington, W.Va., is a town of about 55,000. So explain how this place turned out three of Scout.com analyst Dave Telep's top 15 prospects: 6-4 point guard O.J. Mayo and 6-5 wing Bill Walker, who since have moved on to play high school ball in Cincinnati, and 6-8 power forward Patrick Patterson.

"That's a good question," Patterson says.

As he is in high school ball, Patterson was separated from the other two on the first day of the summer recruiting period. He starred at the Nike Camp with his aggressive play while Mayo and Walker played at the Reebok ABCD Camp in New Jersey.

Patterson is drawing a lot of interest and says he's considering 14 or 15 schools.

First ridiculous dunk

Point guard Shelton Brown played two games on Day 1, but he distinctly remembers the play in question. Late in the afternoon session, he got loose on a fast break, soared above the rim, grabbed the lob pass thrown by teammate Matt Gatens and forced it through the basket before finally descending to Earth.

Most of the time, dunks like this result in whoops and shouts from players, parents and even a few coaches. After Brown's dunk, there was silence.

"Everybody was in shock," Brown says.

Did I mention he is 5-9, 148 pounds?

That dunk was the most breathtaking of four Brown threw down on the first day. He has been contacted by Wake Forest, Clemson, North Carolina, Tennessee and Miami.

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The firsts of many for the class of 2007

Sporting News, The, July 21, 2006 by Mike DeCourcy

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