Love Drops Duke, Singler Has Visits

By Joe Freeman
The Oregonian

The Oregon high school basketball season ended nearly two months ago, but the offseason is just starting to intensify for two of the most sought-after recruits in Oregon history.

Kevin Love and Kyle Singler, who are in the midst of the AAU basketball season, are entering the recruiting stretch run, and colleges are jockeying to land commitments from the two elite prospects.

Love, a 6-foot-10 senior-to-be at Lake Oswego, trimmed his list of potential colleges to two last week by removing national power Duke from what had been a three-team race that also included North Carolina and UCLA. Love says the Blue Devils' recruitment of him seemed to cool recently, so he thought it was time to establish a final two.

"(Duke) hadn't been calling me and showing as much interest, so I just decided that if they weren't going to put the time in, I wasn't going to worry about it," Love said Sunday.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't help the Blue Devils' chances when he stopped in Medford on April 19 to visit Singler and failed to make a trip north to see Love.

"I really didn't understand why Coach K would come all the way across the country and not stop by," Love said. "I mean, I understand why he would visit Kyle; he's a consensus top-five player in the country in our class. But I was surprised he didn't stop by while he was in the area."

Krzyzewski's visit was the first of many the past few days for Singler, a 6-8 senior-to-be at South Medford, who still has several schools on his list of finalists. During a four-day stretch last week, Arizona coach Lute Olson, UCLA coach Ben Howland, Washington coach Lorenzo Romar and Kansas coach Bill Self made stops in Medford.

The amplified attention came after Singler and Love excelled in two prominent April AAU tournaments in Las Vegas (Easter Classic) and Houston (Kingwood Classic). Love, who is playing for the SoCal All-Stars during the AAU season, led his loaded team to the championship in both tournaments. He was named most valuable player of the Las Vegas Easter Classic and scored 21 points in the Kingwood Classic championship game.

Love and Singler, who is playing for the Portland Legends, each drew glowing reviews from internet recruiting analysts after the tournaments, only furthering the hype surrounding the duo.

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: Oregonian)

Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (5/1)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup published periodically during the offseason.

Commits

Chace Stanback of Los Angeles Fairfax, a 6-8 junior basketball standout, wasted little time in making his college choice by committing to UCLA.Stanback decided he didn't want to mislead anyone by taking recruiting trips to Washington or Gonzaga. He also didn't call a news conference; instead, he simply relied on his coach, Harvey Kitani, to make the announcement."It really doesn't matter to me if the media is around," Stanback said. "Playing against top players motivates me."Stanback doesn't turn 17 until June, and he's already looking stronger because his mother, a personal trainer, has him sweating in the weight room.He scored 36 points in his first spring league game two weeks ago and is set to play on Monday at 6 p.m. at Fairfax in what should be an entertaining spring league game against Woodland Hills Taft and point guard Larry Drew Jr.For relaxation this spring, Stanback is playing on the Lions' golf team. He has learned that dunking is easier than sinking a 20-foot putt. Los Angeles Times 4/30


Recruits

Kyle Singler, 6-8, 210 from Medford, Ore., was scouted by coaches of his finalists — KU, Duke, North Carolina and UCLA. Other top preps scouted by KU and other schools included: Marcus Simmons, a 6-4 junior from Alexandria, La., considering KU, Texas, Mississippi State, OU, OSU; Samardo Samuels, 6-9, 210, Soph., Newark, N.J.; Anthony Randolph, 6-10, Jr., Dallas; Brandon McGee, 6-7, Jr., Chicago’s Crane High. Lawrence Journal-World 4/24

Hold the Mayo because we're giving plenty of Love. You heard it here first. Kevin Love, and not O.J. Mayo, is the best player in the Class of 2007. OK, it's just one man's opinion, but here are the facts. Love is a new man. A year ago, he had to sit out the championship game of the Kingwood Classic because his knee was still bothering him. Now he's in the best shape of his life. Gone is the knee brace. So too is the baby fat. He's far more mobile. He's working out twice a day and dieting. "I'm a completely different player," Love said. "With my body and my game." The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Love may not be as dominating as this past season's numero uno, Greg Oden, on the defensive end in terms of his athleticism and shot-blocking abilities — but he's just as effective on the glass and is better on the offensive end because of his playmaking skills. We're not selling short Oden's ability to pass out of double teams. It's just that Love may just be the best big man passer to come along — ever. Whether it's a pinpoint bounce pass to a cutting Taylor King or a flick of the wrists on a 70-foot outlet to a streaking Brandon Jennings, Love has no peer. One Hall of Fame college coach this past weekend even put him in the same sentence as Wes Unseld in terms of their all-around games. Fox Sports 4/25

HIGH SCHOOL HOOPLA: Juniors James Harden (Artesia) and Austin Daye (Woodbridge) led the Pump-N-Run team to the championship in a tournament in Las Vegas over the weekend. The oral commitment by 6-foot-6 swingman Chace Stanback (Fairfax) Saturday to UCLA means the Bruins' coaching staff's final two class of 2007 targets are the Oregon pair of Kevin Love and Kyle Singler (South Medford), who are two of the top five players, nationally, in that class. Press-Telegram 4/25

The April evaluation period will close out with a bang this weekend as the King James Shooting Stars Classic finishes the month of tournaments in Akron, Ohio...The Michigan Hurricanes boast Oak Hill bound guard Alex Legion, the No. 15 ranked player in the class of 2007. Also from Michigan is The Family, boasting a terrific guard line up of Durrell Summers, Kalin Lucas and Corperryale Harris. Big man Joshua Southern holds down the middle for the Michigan Mustangs. Cardinal Sports 4/27

LeBron classic is slam dunk for Akron. Teams from across U.S. are pouring in for 3-day tournament...More than 250 college coaches are expected to attend. Earley said he has heard from several big-name college coaches, including UCLA Bruin's men's head coach Ben Howland and Texas Tech men's head coach Bobby Knight. The tournament is one of the premier stages where players perform and coaches can identify and evaluate potential college recruits. Beacon Journal 4/27

King James Classic notebook... Terrelle Pryor – It's Herb Pope's show with the JOTS and Pryor is okay with that. "I know this is Herb's team. I'm younger than him. I'll do what I can, when I can." Pryor did a lot when he needed to. He scored 17 points in the victory. He's a quiet killer. Don't sleep on this kid. He'll put a game winner in on you or make a play that will. Like Pope, Pryor said he is opening his recruitment up from Pitt. He said he rushed his decision and wants to take his time a second time around. His dream school? North Carolina...With Alex Legion not in town because of a track meet, Crater was able to get a lot of looks from the backcourt. He certainly took advantage, sinking five three-pointers and scoring 17 points. Gator Bait 4/29

Smith was hot on the trail of several big men, most notably Gary Johnson, Anthony Randolph and Patrick Patterson...Randolph is a bouncy, long-armed 6-10, 215-pound center from Woodrow Wilson High in Dallas. Telep rates him No. 28 overall and the third-best center in the class of '07. Smith spent much of his time at Randolph's court, but again, UK's coach will face stiff competition. Cincinnati Enquirer 4/30

King James: Day Two...Josh Southern – Michigan Mustangs – He’s a little heavy on his feet, however, he’s still learning. He’s a lot less raw than he was last year though. Southern fights hard for rebounds in his area. One particular possession he turned and missed a short jumper but fought hard for the rebound and ended up with a tip in. Deacon Sports 4/30

Mayo, Walker headed to USC? Here's the latest: O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker might play college basketball at Southern California. "They're leaning hard toward Southern Cal," a source tells us. What? L.A., bright lights, big city, Kobe ... Hollywood? Aren't Mayo and Walker - who at last check were still juniors at North College Hill - small-town guys who didn't want to take their college hoops too far from home? By the way, this tip comes from the same source who told us April 21 that Mayo had visited Oak Hill Academy (Va.) to inquire about a transfer. Cincinnati Enquirer 4/30

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: Fox Sports)