Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (7/2)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Commits

USA Basketball also announced the withdraw of two previously announced USA U19 Trials participants. Drew Gordon (Archbishop Mitty H.S. / San Jose, Calif.), who injured his hand over the weekend at the 2007 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival, and 2006 USA U18 Trials finalist James Hickson (Wheeler H.S., Ga. / Marietta, Ga.) have withdrawn from the Trials leaving 18 players set to contend for USA U19 Team roster positions. SFC 6/26

Recruits

Top 35 center Jeff Withey announced his commitment to play basketball for Arizona today, filling the Wildcats' greatest need in the 2008-09 recruiting class. Withey, a 6-foot-11, 215-pound senior-to-be at Horizon High School of San Diego, decommitted to Louisville earlier this month. He also considered UCLA, San Diego State and USC but only took an unofficial visit to Arizona, joining the Wildcats last Thursday and Friday. "I just love the city and all the fans," Withey said. "I'm ready to be a Wildcat." Arizona Daily Star 6/25

The 16-team Fairfax tournament at L.A. Fairfax High figures to be one of the best boys' basketball competitions of the summer....Several top players could miss games because of camp commitments. Campbell Hall's Jrue Holiday won't be available to play for the Vikings until this weekend at the earliest because he's participating in a camp. LA Times 6/26

In a matter of a year, Ralph Sampson III has gone from a son of a famous basketball star to a confident player carving out his own identity. The 6-foot-11, 225-pound center from Northview High School in Duluth, Ga. is making himself a high-major priority....Sampson will get a taste of different styles of play over the next couple of weeks. Sampson and his family will travel to North Carolina this weekend, where they will visit Wake Forest and Duke. The following weekend, Sampson will head west to see Cal and UCLA. Yahoo Sports 6/26

“I don’t respect West Coast point guards; they’re too Hollywood for me. I’m more of an East Coast, flashy-type point guard,” continued Brandon Jennings the rising star at Oak Hill, arguably the most exciting player in the class. “Someone like Jrue Holiday  [another top-ranked Cali guard], he’s real smooth, goes to work in the first three quarters–but he’s not a killer yet. Me, I’m a killer.” SLAM Magazine 6/26

Jordan Hamilton, 6-7 junior wing, Dorsey (CA): A polished wing with good size, Hamilton is a sniper from behind the arc. With his athleticism and smooth ballhandling ability, the L.A. native is one of the best in his class–and as promised. SLAM Magazine 6/26

Other than his 4-for-16 shooting from 3-point range, Jrue Holiday put up top-notch numbers across the board. In fact, Holiday's performance left many wondering if he is the most complete guard the travel circuit has seen in recent years. Holiday scored the ball well, but what was most impressive about his game was his playmaking and defense. A future power point guard in the mold of Baron Davis, Holiday led the event in assists and was second in assist/turnover ratio. He primarily played on the wing alongside Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee. There's no telling how many assists he would have racked up if he had been the primary ballhandler. Holiday's defense was as good as it gets. He gave fits to whomever he guarded. Rivals.com 6/26

The courts on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University will fall silent and the voice of semi-retired grassroots staple Sonny Vaccaro will not be heard this summer. The Reebok ABCD Camp that college basketball recruiters once knew no longer exists.  The beginning of July once served as a crucial time for college coaches to venture to Teaneck, N.J., and evaluate some of the top high school players in the country. Instead, Reebok has opted to travel down the New Jersey Turnpike and hold Rbk U, a similar yet slimmer version of ABCD, from July 6-10 at Philadelphia University. New Haven Register 6/28

Kobe Bryant Skills Camp Academy: "It's fun learning some of the techniques that Kobe uses," remarked Demar DeRozan, the Compton High product who at 6-foot-6 (without shoes) was the tallest, most athletic player in attendance and also one of the standouts. "It's fun but a lot of hard work. I like it (the format) though." Cardinal Sports 6/28

Class 2009 Rankings: While there are a number of changes in the rankings, one player continues to have a strong hold on the top spot. California forward Renardo Sidney is still No. 1, but he is certainly being challenged. Sidney, an imposing 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward from Artesia High School, has been strong this spring and summer. However, there is a newcomer knocking on the door. Gator Bait 6/28

When Nike, adidas and Reebok staged July camps simultaneously, the shoe companies competed fiercely for the best players. A sharp reduction in shoe company sponsorship in the camp scene this summer apparently will not lessen the potential for conflict. That seemed to be the case when the NBA Players Association and USA Basketball held camps the same week in June. Prospects had to choose between the NBAPA camp in Charlottesville, Va., June 19-23 and the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 20-24....USA Basketball got many of the headliners: Greg Monroe, Delvon Roe, Al-Farouq Aminu and Jrue Holiday. Kentucky.com 7/1

In a battle of two heavyweights going at it like it was the regular season, Mater Dei of Santa Ana made the key plays in the final minutes and came away with a 73-70 victory over host Fairfax of Los Angeles in a semi final of the 21st annual Nike Fairfax Tournament. Mater Dei had five players in double figures led by David Wear's 19 points. Brown and Blake Arnet each had 14 points for the Monarchs while teammates Jamaal Trice and Travis Wear had 13 and 11 respectively. LA Daily News 7/1

Rivals 2009 Class Ranking Top 75

Scout 2009 Class Ranking Top 50

(photo credit: SI and OC Register)