Zips 2006 Recruits

[Captain Kangaroo]

It seems like the two biggest local (senior) 2005-6 HS stars will be:

Rydell Brooks, Buchtel (G)

Marcus Johnson, St. Vincent-St. Mary (PF)

If Dambrot could land one or both of these two guys, we would likely be on our way to the Promised Land. Are these guys going "big time," or do the Zips have a legit shot at them?

[Z.I.P.]

I'm assuming we all know Johnson. But what can you tell the 50th State Zip Club about Rydell Brooks? This is the first time I've heard of him -- will Google shortly.

A certain ex-list member has instructed me not to speak of this subject, but maybe no one will be watching. The story is that Big Ten schools are assuming Marcus is pretty much a Zip already. Supposedly, it would take maybe an ACC invite/offer to get him out of town. But that may be wishful thinking. No inside knowledge here.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Interesting read, mentioning Rydell Brooks:

Mayberry on recruiting

Numbers put crunch on area

Basketball players find Div. I opportunities few

By Darnell Mayberry

Ohio just isn't much of a basketball state.

Football? Well, we all know what the Buckeye state can boast in that sport. But on the hardwood, Ohio seems to lag.

Northeast Ohio is lower on the totem pole in the state than a third-stringer is on a state championship team. Particularly the Greater Akron area.

Now, that's not to say there's a lack of talent around here. It just means there's a lack of major Division I college basketball talent.

Can you name the last player from the area to be named to the McDonald's High School All-American Team before ``King James?''

The 18th annual Greater Akron Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game last week at Tallmadge High School is just one example of the area's talent pool. Of the 20 players invited, one has received a Division I scholarship. Since 1995, just eight players from the same all-star game has played at the highest collegiate level. That's more than 200 of the area's best players.

Those numbers sound worse when you consider that former Wadsworth stars Nick Goddard is a walk-on at Akron, and Ben Falkenberg, last year's GABCA Co-MVP, has since transferred from the U.S. Naval Academy to Division III Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

What gives?

``Most of these kids are like that Division III-, Division II-type player,'' said Jon Karnuth, Tallmadge coach and outgoing president of the GABCA. ``I think there's a lot of good players out there, but if you're thinking about a Division I school, you better be 6-5, 6-6, very athletic, can jump and can shoot it. There are a lot of players out there that can do that, but they're 6-foot or 6-1. I think that's the big thing.''

That reason sums up why only one current senior from the area will be playing at the highest collegiate level: Walsh Jesuit's Dwayne Jackson, the reigning player of the year. The 6-foot-3 forward will play in the American East Conference at Binghamton next fall after averaging 20.8 points, nine rebounds and four assists this season for the Warriors.

A lack of height is also why sharp-shooters such as Stow's Chris Switzer, a 6-foot-1 guard, and Barberton's Kieron Smith, standing 5-10, are looking at Division II and Division III programs. It's why quick and crafty point guards such as Firestone's Mike Williams, just 5-7, and Hudson's Brian Guerin, 5-10, are left hoping.

``These guards here are 5-11,'' said Don Hershey, an assistant coach at Division III Baldwin-Wallace. ``You've got Division I kids who are 6-4, 6-5 playing the same position.''

Physically, Jackson comes the closest to the prototype size. He'll be a guard at the next level with a big enough frame to score and rebound inside. Mid-American Conference schools Buffalo and Bowling Green, and Robert Morris of the Northeast Conference were also suitors.

After Jackson, there's a major drop off, as most are left with the option of local schools such as Mount Union, Baldwin-Wallace, College of Wooster and Walsh University.

John Stovall is vice president of Prep Spotlight, a magazine, Web site and scouting service that serves as a source for college coaches for high school basketball talent in the Midwest. Stovall, who has evaluated talent in Ohio for eight years, estimates Akron to be in the middle of the pack in the state and near the low end nationally. Three Division I recruits from Greater Akron can be considered a ``good year.''

``The whole state probably produces 20 to 25 Division I players every year, and that's including kids that go to Division I (junior colleges),'' Stovall said. ``If you get two out of Akron every year, that's about average.''

With area talent said to fluctuate, next year's class will be a lot more attractive. St. Vincent-St. Mary's Marcus Johnson, Buchtel's Rydell Brooks, Canton McKinley's Raymar Morgan and Ricky Jackson and North's Devron Bussey are on several coaches' radar. And few players from the area slip through the cracks, meaning if colleges aren't calling, a player most likely isn't in the upper tier.

Landing a scholarship then becomes a numbers game.

Stovall added that most of the state's talent lies in Cincinnati and Dayton. Seven to 10 players are recruited out of Cincinnati yearly. Three to five will be taken from Cleveland. Columbus is good for two or three each year, as well as Toledo. That leaves slim pickings from the Akron area.

By contrast, Stovall compared Akron to Memphis, Tenn., another smaller market. The city of Memphis alone produces 10 to 15 Division I players each year.

``There are roughly 300 Division I colleges in the country,'' Stovall said. ``Probably 100 kind of recruit Ohio. Probably 50 actively recruit Ohio.

``If there's a player (in Greater Akron), they'll come. If not, they don't just go through Akron on a whim. They have to hear about a player.''

And there's not much to hear about with the next LeBron nowhere near Akron.

[zipboy]

No inside knowledge here just wishful thinking, but David Lighty from VASJ tore his ACL last month. He was ranked one of the top players in the country. If schools back off, you never know.

[Captain Kangaroo]

No inside knowledge here just wishful thinking, but David Lighty from VASJ tore his ACL last month. He was ranked one of the top players in the country. If schools back off, you never know.

Per the PD, Lighty is going to OSU. Pretty early commit?