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News and Notes

News and Notes- In this edition of News and Notes we rank the top five players in each class (Mayo #1 Sr.- pictured), take a peak at the top freshman in the country, and show why the future is just going to get brighter for Ohio State basketball.

…..We are going to wait until after the Primetime Shootout to update and expand our playing rankings, but if we had to do our top 5 in each class today, it would look like this: 2007- 1.  OJ Mayo (Huntington High) 2.  Eric Gordon (Indianapolis North Central) 3.  Derrick Rose (Chicago Simeon) 4.  Kevin Love (Lake Oswego) 5.  Michael Beasley (Notre Dame Prep) 2008- 1.  Brandon Jennings (Oak Hill Academy) 2.  Greg Monroe (Helen Cox) 3.  Tyreke Evans (American Christian) 4.  Al-Farouq Aminu (Norcross) 5.  Delvon Roe (St. Edward) 2009- 1.  Rinardo Sydney (Artesia) 2.  DeMarcus Cousins (Birmingham Erwin) 3.  Kenny Boynton (Blanch Ely) 4.  Lance Stephenson (Lincoln)  5.  Derrick Favors (South Atlanta) 2010- 1.  DeShaun Thomas (Bishop Luers) 2.  Brandon Knight (Pine Crest) 3.  KC Ross-Miller (God’s Academy) 4.  JayVaughn Pinkston (Bishop Loughlin) 5.  Jeremy Tyler (East Lake)…..

.....Memphis-signee Derrick Rose (#3 Sr.) and his Simeon team lost a heartbreaker earlier in the season to Chicago Farragut.  Rose got his revenge on Saturday when he hit 5 first half 3-pointers in route to 30 points (including 17 straight during one span in the first half), 6 assists, and 8 rebounds to lead his team to an 82-49 blowout over Farragut.  Sounds like his outside shot is finally starting to come around.  That spells trouble for Conference USA opponents- he's the best since Dwayne Wade.....

…..DeShaun Thomas, a 6’7 freshman from Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers, is drawing comparisons to Lebron, and he recently backed up the hype with a 45 point, and 15 rebound outburst in his team’s win over Fort Wayne.  We’ll have a profile article up on this prodigy later in the week…..

…..Indiana-bound Eric Gordon’s 43 point effort against Jeffrey Jordan’s Loyola Academy in a game on ESPN2 on Thursday night was one of the most impressive scoring displays we’ve seen, and it was good enough to make him a solid contender for National POY honors, and puts him at least at #2 in the class of 2007.  He hit 17-25 shots from the field.  Talk about efficient.  To watch the highlights click here ->: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zNQRKsZYXZ8

…..UCLA’s prized recruit, Kevin Love, scored 36 points while leading his Lake Oswego team to a huge 61-52 upset over national powerhouse Mater Dei over the weekend at the Nike Extravaganza…..

…..Jai Lucas recently attended Oklahoma’s win over Texas Tech.  Lucas is one of the top unsigned prospects in the country and his list includes: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, and Maryland.  He had a monster game recently when he led Bellaire to an 82-74 win over Westside.  He scored 39 points in the game, including 12 of his team’s final 14….. 

…..Ohio State fans should be thrilled with these updates: Jon Diebler led Upper Sandusky to a win over Shelby and scored 67 points in the game.  He’s now #2 on the all-time scoring list in Ohio.  Kosta Koufos had a monster game when he led Glen Oak to a win over North Canton Hoover.  The big guy scored 33 points, pulled down 28 rebounds (wow!), and blocked 8 shots for a near triple-double.  Junior-commit William Buford dropped 41 points on Bowsher in a game on Friday night.  Is it possible that the best is yet to come in Buckeyeland?….. 

…..In case you’ve missed what Texas freshman Kevin Durant has done in Big 12 play: 37 points and 16 rebounds against Colorado, 34 points and 13 rebounds against Missouri, 28 points and 13 rebounds against Oklahoma, 37 points and 12 rebounds against Oklahoma State, 26 points and 15 rebounds against Nebraska, 34 points and 9 rebounds against Baylor, 37 points and 23 rebounds against Texas Tech, and most recently, 32 points and 9 rebounds against Kansas State…..

…..Kentucky’s 6’5 freshman, Jodie Meeks, has become one of the best freshmen in the SEC.  In his team’s impressive wins over Tennessee and Arkansas, Meeks averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.  He shot nearly 75% from the field and hit 4-4 free throws and 5-7 three pointers.  Tubby Smith didn’t get enough credit for this freshman class.  Perry Stevenson and Derrick Jasper will also develop into big time players for the Cats…..

…..West Virginia is now 18-4 on the season and freshman Da’Sean Butler has emerged as one of the best in the Big East.  The 6’7 forward scored a combined 38 points in his team’s wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall, while hitting 14-23 shots…..

Have questions or comments, or just want to talk hoops?  e-mail us at Nathan@HoopsReport.com