Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (9/4)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Commits

Rucker Elite 24 Practice: UCLA-bound Kevin Love seemed to go through the rubber-band workouts with ease, hitting most of his shots during the routine. He excels at hitting shots from any and all angles off the glass. While discussing Kevin Love, during the shoot-around he was throwing alley-oops to Michael Beasley. Sounds normal right? The thing was, he was throwing the alley’s from the OPPOSITE baseline. NBADraft.net 8/31

Recruits

It shouldn’t be a surprise that basketball recruit Derrick Rose left Illinois off the final list of schools he’s considering. The relationship had fizzled between Illini coach Bruce Weber and the Chicago Simeon guard’s older brother, Reggie Rose. More so than Derrick Rose, Reggie is running the show, and the five finalists were all schools with Adidas contracts. Memphis, Indiana, Kansas, UCLA and DePaul are Rose’s finalists. Shooting guard Eric Gordon of Indianapolis North Central High School, rated by Bob Gibbons as the top senior overall, hasn’t changed his mind even though Rose listed Indiana as a possibility. “I’m still solid with Illinois,’’ Gordon said Monday evening. Rose is the top-rated point guard. When he teamed with Gordon during the AAU circuit this summer, they were nearly unbeatable. Springfield Journal-Register 8/29

Drew Gordon, the junior from Mitty High in San Jose and member of the Oakland Soldiers' AAU team, said he still hasn't settled on a list of college finalists. Gibbons called him one of the top five players in the class of 2008. "He's a smart player for a young kid, really advanced in his perception of how to play and how to make plays," Gibbons said. "He could be the best player from that area since Leon Powe. At this early age, I like him better than I did Leon." Inside Bay Area 8/31

Rucker Elite 24 Practice: Kyle Singler, a 6’8” forward out of Oregon was hitting from anywhere and everywhere on the floor today during his teams intrasquad scrimmage. He will be a valuable weapon for whichever college he chooses. He has narrowed his list to Duke, Arizona, Washington, Kansas and UCLA. NBADraft.net 8/31

Renardo Sidney, a 6-foot-10 sophomore considered one of the top prospects in high school basketball, has enrolled at Artesia, a Southern Section official confirmed Thursday. Sidney, a Mississippi native, has been the focus of national attention because he didn't play high school basketball last season but has gained acclaim through playing in club tournaments. It remains to be seen whether Artesia, the defending state Division III champion, will clear him to play after the school went through controversy last season over allegations surrounding its basketball program. Its coach, Scott Pera, resigned at the end of the season to work at Arizona State. L.A. Times 9/1

A top basketball prospect, center Clint Chapman of Canby, Ore., was in the Sun Devil Stadium crowd. Chapman, who is rated among the nation's best big men, paid ASU a visit Thursday. He is scheduled to be at Texas this weekend.Chapman averaged 15.6 points and 10.8 rebounds last year as a high school junior. ASU is one of many schools interested in the prospect. Texas, Nevada, California, Oklahoma, Southern California and Washington also are recruiting him. AZ Central 9/1

Rucker Elite 24 Game: Kyle Singler (2007 - Undecided), sporting a 'do that inspired hype man Bobbito Garcia, a.k.a. DJ Cucumber Slice to confidently tell the crowd, "he could get a lot of hair endorsements someday," played a solid game, showing his well rounded offensive game. NBADraft.net 9/2

Rucker Elite 24 Game: Stealing the show for the White Team was Brandon Jennings (2008 - currently attending Oak Hill). The Compton native played with enough flair for Bobbito to question whether or not the former has some New York blood in him. He ran his team so well it would have made Jason Kidd proud. Ironically, Kidd, who brought his family with him to the game, was Co-coach of the opposing Blue Team. NBADraft.net 9/2

Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose - whose list of finalists released last weekend included Indiana but not Illinois - were seen at a bar and grill close to campus with Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, Indiana assistant coaches and Indiana players D.J. White and Rod Wilmont. Diners at the restaurant cheered as Sampson walked in followed by Rose and Gordon, the newspaper reported. They made no comment, walking quickly to a table in a back room. Springfield Journal-Register 9/2

Two top high school basketball recruits were in Bloomington for an unofficial visit to the campus this weekend.Eric Gordon Jr. and Derrick Rose dined with IU juniors D.J. White, A.J. Ratliff, IU coach Kelvin Sampson and other Hoosier basketball personnel Friday night at Yogi's Grill and Bar. The two high school seniors were also at Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon with members of the basketball team and coaching staff. Indiana Daily Student 9/2

In basketball the drive for lucrative NBA contracts and college scholarships has started to create a two-tier system, in which some top prospects have more allegiance to their club teams than their high school squads and worry more about their summer than their winter seasons.It's no longer really surprising that sophomore Renardo Sidney of California is rated among the top prospects in the country even though he hasn't played high school basketball yet, or that he told the Washington Post he doesn't believe he necessarily needs interscholastic basketball to reach the NBA."You really don't have to look at high school basketball," he said. Chicago Sports 9/3

Illinois basketball fans can relax--at least for the moment. The Illini's star recruit, Indianapolis North Central guard Eric Gordon, remains orally committed to the Illini. Gordon made an unofficial visit to Indiana over the weekend to see friends and take part in open gym with Hoosier players and another top prospect, Derrick Rose of Simeon. Rose, who has narrowed his choices to Indiana, DePaul, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA, reportedly went to dinner Friday night with Gordon, his younger brother Evan, Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson and the Hoosiers basketball team."Illini fans need to understand that Eric has a lot of friends going to IU from his high school," said Gordon's father, also named Eric Gordon. "EJ (his son's nickname) has probably been to Bloomington 15 or 20 times." Chicago Sports 9/3

Super recruits Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose made unofficial visits to IU and participated in a Saturday Assembly Hall scrimmage with current Hoosiers. That scrimmage was originally set to be public, but school officials closed it over NCAA violation concerns. Still, fans were in Assembly Hall hallways to cheer players as they walked by. The News-Sentinel 9/4

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: websportschicago.com)