Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (10/9)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Commits

As Kevin Love of Lake Oswego and Kyle Singler of South Medford have climbed the ladder of amateur basketball and developed into two of the nation's best college prospects, shoe companies haven't simply tagged along for the ride, they've inserted themselves as an integral part of the journey. Since junior high school, Love and Singler have competed on Amateur Athletic Union teams and at national tournaments and skill camps, many organized and funded by shoe companies... But this system, which many say has deeply rooted problems, is in the midst of change. Oregonian 10/9

Recruits

Mountain View High 7-footer Scott Thompson said Wednesday he has verbally committed to play basketball at Santa Clara in 2007.The senior took an official visit to Santa Clara last weekend and gave coach Dick Davey and his staff a verbal commitment on Monday. Idaho Statesman 10/5

Drew Gordon, who nearly made the U.S. junior national team last summer despite being the youngest player invited to camp, is regarded as a five-star prospect by every recruiting service. "He has quite a few offers in hand,'' Mitty Coach Brian Eagleson said. "I don't want to say how many he's had, but it's been considerable.'' As for Gordon, who is rated as the No. 10 prospect in the class of 2008 by scout.com and No. 15 by rivals.com, Eagleson said, ``At this point, he's mostly still wide open. We've had discussions, but he needs to see the campus before he could even commit to a school.'' Mercury News 10/5

Drew Gordon and Mitty begins practice Oct. 20 and opens its season at home against Galena of Reno, featuring major-college prospect Luke Babbitt, a 6-7 junior forward, on Dec. 1. Eagleson said he expects at least 45 college recruiters to attend. Mercury News 10/5

San Diego High's Jamelle Horne is ranked 16th on Rise magazine's Top 100 list of boys high school basketball players from the Class of 2007, the publication announced this week. Horizon's Jeff Withey, a 7-foot center, was No. 36 on the magazine's Fab 50 list of juniors. Union Tribune 10/5

Kamyron Brown, starting point guard for Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., has orally committed to Oregon. Brown, a 6-foot-2 senior, averaged 10 points and eight assists and is rated by rivals.com as the No. 18 high school point guard in the nation. Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight called Brown a colorful player and excellent man-to-man defender. Oregonian 10/6

Basketball star Kyle Singler is not playing football this season, but his family still helps fill the roster. Bill Singler, Kyle's uncle, is the head coach who has guided South Medford to the playoffs in five of the past six seasons. His son, Mitch, leads the team with 11 catches for 258 yards and four touchdowns. E.J. Singler, a 6-foot-5 sophomore who is Kyle's brother, also has 11 catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns. Register-Guard 10/6

One college assistant who watched SF Kyle Singler of Medford, Ore., play recently was impressed by the improvement in his ball skills. And the coach insists Singler has grown to 6-9, which will make him unusually tall for his position at the college level. Rated No. 4 in the 2007 class by Scout.com's Dave Telep, Singler recently visited Duke and Arizona and is scheduled to be at Kansas for its Late Night opening to practice. Sporting News 10/8

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: The Chronicle)