Oklahoma State got some very good news recently when 6’7½” junior Troy Gillenwater (Stoneridge School/Simi Valley CA) announced a verbal commitment to the Cowboys, picking Sean Sutton’s club over Arizona and Kansas (his other finalists). Gillenwater is a huge pick-up for Oklahoma State in that he is a bigger version of an Adrian Dantley-type scorer that is near automatic when he gets the ball in the paint. Hoop Scoop’s Clark Francis has Gillenwater pegged as the #15 ranked national junior and only 6’9” Drew Gordon (Mitty/San Jose CA) compares as a Class of 2008 post prospect on the West Coast. Look for Gillenwater (a bonafide 2008 McDonald’s All-American candidate) to be a force on the spring and summer circuit this year. Gillenwater wasn’t the only major verbal that took place recently.

In a somewhat surprising announcement, 6’7” junior Luke Babbitt (Galena/Reno NV) has committed to Ohio State over serious interest from UCLA, Arizona, Gonzaga and Nevada. Babbitt is a very skilled combo-forward who led his Galena team to the 2007 Nevada state title………… Talented 6’3” combo-guard Lance Hurdle (San Bernardino Valley JC/San Bernardino CA) committed recently to Miami FL. Hurdle is a Helix (San Diego CA) grad who originally signed with UC-Santa Barbara and played his freshman year with the Gauchos…………….Las Vegas native 6’7” Darrington “Butta” Hobson (Decatur Christian/Decatur IL) has committed to Pepperdine. “Butta” is a multi-talented perimeter player with size who should combine with fall signees 6’6” Tyrone Shelly (Crawford/San Diego CA) and 6’8” Malcolm Thomas (Crawford/San Diego CA) to give Wave coach Vance Walberg a much needed infusion of talent that should help Pepperdine be competitive again at the top of the WCC………….

/i/z6 DT Tidbits/TA_Article_1.jpg College programs in dire need of a sharpshooter with size and range should be fortunate that 6’7” senior Trent Anderson (Ironwood Ridge/Tucson AZ) is still on the board. Anderson decided to pass on the early signing period last November and proceeded to have a stellar senior season, averaging 17 points per game (shooting 45% from the 3-point line) and leading his team (24-9) to the Arizona 4-A state championship game - knocking off #1 rated Saguaro (Scottsdale AZ) in the process.
Schools showing interest in Anderson include Arizona State, Long Beach State, Pepperdine, Portland, UC-Santa Barbara, Northeastern, and Princeton……… Anderson’s Ironwood Ridge senior teammate 6’8” Ryan Sharkey has committed to Army…………

New Mexico signee 6’4” senior Ty Abbott (Desert Vista/Phoenix AZ) has asked for and received his official release from the Lobos which resulted due to New Mexico dismissing former coach Ritchie McKay. Abbott is an athletic and strong wing that has range on his perimeter stroke and should be a hot West Coast commodity this spring……………...

Recruiting interest in starting to heat up for one of California’s top senior point guards - 6’3” Donnell Beverly (Leuzinger/Lawndale CA). The lefty playmaker was recently offered by LSU while UConn has also been in to take a close look. Kent State, UC-Irvine and several other mid-majors have been hanging around for awhile. If Leuzinger sounds familiar, it is the alma mater of two other late-blooming big timers – Dorrell Wright (Miami Heat/ 2006 NBA Champions) and Russell Westbrook (UCLA)……………….When Utah’s Ray Giacoletti resigned this month, it caused 6’4” senior Carlon Brown (King/Riverside CA) to reconsider his decision to attend the Salt Lake City UT campus and Brown is now leaning toward to seeking a release from the national letter of intent he signed last November. Brown (who scored 37 points in a California state play-off game against Fairfax last week) is a high-scoring guard with tremendous offensive skills and the confidence necessary to be an impact freshman at the high-major level. Brown (a 2007 ABCD Camp attendee who has had several “triple-doubles” this season) chose the Utes over offers from Marquette, UNLV and Nebraska last fall and is already quietly attracting interest from Pac-10 and Big East schools who are ready to give chase once he receives an official release……………Talented 6’3” lead guard Roberto Nelson (Santa Barbara/Santa Barbara CA) just concluded a sensational sophomore season where he averaged 23.2 points per game. Nelson is presently getting serious interest from the likes of Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Washington and Kentucky…………….…After playing at Artesia (Lakewood CA) during his first two high school seasons, 6’1” junior lead guard Jason Pruitt decided to move over to View Park (Los Angeles CA) where he got the chance to be a “focal point” instead of a complimentary player. The move paid off for Pruitt (the younger brother of USC star Gabriel Pruitt) who has sparked View Park to the Los Angeles CIF small school title this season (a 73-61 win over LACES in the championship game). Pruitt scored 42 points this year against Crenshaw (Los Angeles CA) and is poised to be a “hot” name this April on the recruiting circuit……………..When Jordan (Long Beach CA) knocked off Centennial (Compton CA) in a 1^st round CIF I-AA play-off game last month, it might have been a historic moment not fully realized by anybody at the time – it may have marked the end of a era in Southern California high school coaching. Although no official announcement has been made yet, that game may very well have been the last high school game coached by Centennial coach Rod Palmer who has had a very successful high school coaching career – first starting at Compton (Compton CA) where he coached the likes of Jeff Trepagnier (USC/Denver Nuggets), Tito Maddox (Fresno State/Houston Rockets), David Hamilton (Auburn), DeAndre Moore (Vanderbilt/San Diego State) and Ellis Myles (Louisville) and Centennial where he mentored the likes of Arron Afflalo (UCLA), Gabriel Pruitt (USC) and Sterling Byrd (Long Beach State) and won a California State title in 2004. Palmer’s future plans may include some time off with family and possible resurfacing as a college assistant for a program in need of an excellent coach with extensive Southern California recruiting contacts……….….A press-conference has been scheduled in Chicago next Monday March 19th to announce the formation of a new organization GBOA – Grassroots Basketball of America. GBOA is a group of prominent and influential leaders of grassroots programs from throughout the country whose goal is to provide a unified voice and direction for the nation’s grassroots coaches and to seek ways to positively reform the current grassroots basketball landscape. The launch of GBOA’s website (www.gboahoops.com) will also be announced on Monday.

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