Tracking the College Basketball Stars of the Future

Watch for Thad Mumau's feature article on Conference USA basketball recruiting in Bonesville Magazine.

Hoops Recruiting Report Monday, August 16, 2004 By Thad Mumau

'Invasion of the Talent Snatchers' descends on N.C.

©2004 Bonesville.net

Twenty-five of last year’s top 300 high school senior basketball players in the country were from North Carolina. And only two of them signed with Division I schools in this state.

There are 17 D-I universities in North Carolina, with N.C. State and Wake Forest chosen by prospects among the top 300 as ranked by Prepstars.com.

Cedric Simmons, a 6-10 center/power forward from Shallotte West Brunswick, signed with N.C. State. He was No. 30 in the final national ranking of high school seniors.

Cameron Stanley, who was No. 111, signed with Wake Forest. He is a 6-7 small forward from Raleigh Millbrook.

JamesOn Curry, No. 27 on the final list, signed with North Carolina. But the Tar Heels released him after he pleaded guilty to felony drug charges. The 6-3 wing guard from Mebane Eastern Alamance then signed with Oklahoma State.

Clemson landed two of the top prospects from North Carolina in Troy Mathis and James Mays, giving the Atlantic Coast Conference five top-150 signees from North Carolina high schools.

Conference USA schools signed five top-200 players with North Carolina ties, Cincinnati and Memphis getting two apiece and DePaul one. The 14 C-USA schools signed a total of 58 players, with six coming from North Carolina high schools.

DePaul’s class also included a point guard with North Carolina roots as Aking Elting from Southern Idaho Junior College played his high school hoops at East Bladen High in Elizabethtown.

The 17 Division I schools in North Carolina combined to sign just six in-state players, Appalachian State University leading the way with two. The Mountaineers added Greensboro point guard Jeremy Clayton and 6-6 small forward Vincent James of Charlotte, while Elon brought in Graham point guard Brian Waters and High Point signed point guard Anthony Harris out of Concord.

East Carolina, with a six-man 2004 class, signed Josh King, a 5-11 wing guard who led Trinity High School to a 31-1 record and the North Carolina 3-A championship by averaging 27.4 points per game and knocking down an eye-popping 53 percent of his three-point attempts.

King was named Mr. 3-A Basketball by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

UNC-Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach has made a habit of recruiting North Carolina kids as the former N.C. State standout guard has a dozen of them on his roster.

Next time in this space, we will preview the top rising senior basketball players from North Carolina.

Here is where the top North Carolina prospects from the 2004 class went (Prepstars.com national ranking is in parentheses; players suiting up for in-state schools in bold):

1. Roy Bright (18) — Cincinnati

2. Shawne Williams (26) — prep school (after signing with Memphis)

3. JamesOn Curry (27) — Oklahoma State (after signing with North Carolina)

4. Cedric Simmons (30) — N.C. State

5. Mohamed Tangara (65) — Arizona

6. Longar Longar (78) — Oklahoma

7. Troy Mathis (84) — Clemson

8. Glen Dandridge (88) — Missouri

9. James Mays (89) — Clemson

10. Anthony Morrow (95) — Georgia Tech

11. Draelon Burns (104) — DePaul

12. Richard Dorsey (106) — Memphis

13. Cameron Stanley (111) — Wake Forest

14. Albert Weber (117) — Alabama

15. C.J. Anderson (118) — Manhattan

16. Vincent Banks (120) — Cincinnati

17. Edwin Ofori-Attah (151) — William & Mary

18. Joe McCray (164) — Nebraska

19. Kareem Cooper (175) — Memphis

20. Tasheed Carr (185) — Iowa State

21. Hatila De Souza (191) — Europe

22. Shawn Taggart (208) — prep school

23. Jarhon Giddings (225) — Richmond

24. Robbie Simpson (245) — Kennesaw State

25. Monty Sanders (262)— Richmond.

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02/23/2007 02:41:55 PM