Jerime Anderson Verbally Commits to UCLA

By Bruin Basketball Report

UCLA Coach Ben Howland needed at least one elite point guard from the 2008 class, and it appears he has landed one.

Multiple college basketball recruiting services are reporting Jerime Anderson of Canyon High School in Anaheim has verbally committed to UCLA.

Anderson (6'2, 170lb) is ranked as the No.5/No.6 ranked point-guard in the class of 2008 by Rivals and Scout, respectively.

The junior point guard reminds many of former Taft High School and UCLA star Jordan Farmar.

Similar to Farmar, Anderson is a pass-first point guard and displays a good combination of size, athleticism, and overall feel for the game. He is the type of special player who makes his teammates around him better.

Anderson is a deceptively good athlete and surprises many opponents with his second-gear and quickness to the basket. He has an excellent midrange game and gets into the lane with ease and finishes well at the rim. He also excels at running the team in the open court.

Last season as a sophomore, Anderson averaged 13.5 points, 5.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 45% from the field and 30% on three-pointers.

Just as important, Anderson is willing to work hard on the defensive end and exhibits great instincts for the game. He averaged 3.1 steals per game at Canyon High School. He will be a good fit in Ben Howland's system.

Anderson is a part of an elite group of California high school point-guards from the 2008 class which includes Malcolm Lee, Larry Drew Jr., and Brandon Jennings (recently transferred out of state to Oak Hill Academy). Anderson's skill and potential has been compared most closely to both Lee and Drew by recruiting services.

During the offseason, Anderson teams in the backcourt with Campbell Hall's Jrue Holiday - a top five recruit in the class of 2008 - on the Double Pump Elite AAU team. It is logical to believe an Anderson signing may boost the Bruin's chances of also getting a commitment from Holiday.

In addition to UCLA, Anderson was heavily recruited by Arizona, Connecticut, Stanford, USC, and Louisville.

Anderson is an excellent student and currently has a 3.7 GPA in high school.

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: O.C. Register)

Dijon Thompson Gets Work Out With Blazers

By Bruin Basketball Report

Former UCLA Bruin forward Dijon Thompson reported to the Portland Trail Blazers' practice facility and is expected to work out for the team this week.

A free-agent, Thompson played in 10 games last season with the Phoenix Suns, averaging 2.8 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.3 minutes per game.

He also played four games for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA Development League averaging 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 35 minutes.

The former Bruin star was selected in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft (54th overall) by the New York Knicks and was later traded to the Suns.

In his last three seasons at UCLA, Thompson averaged 15.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals.

Thompson will have plenty of competition to make the preseason Blazers' camp roster; Portland already has Darius Miles and Travis Outlaw at small foward along with swingmen Martell Webster and 2006 first-round draft pick Brandon Roy.

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: AP)

Tribal Officials Honor Wooden

By The Associated Press

Tribal officials presented former UCLA head basketball coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden with a ceremonial carved stick at the historic On-A-Slant Village where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark visited more than 200 years ago.

Wooden was in Bismarck to speak at a University of Mary session on leadership. The speech coincided with the start of the United Tribes Technical College International Powwow.

Wooden said he had been to North Dakota in 1927, as a hitchhiker helping to harvest wheat.

"It's an honor to be here," he said.

Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall joined former Louisiana State coach Dale Brown, who grew up in North Dakota, as well as tribal member Amy Mossett, a coordinator of Lewis and Clark bicentennial events, and others in an earth lodge ceremony honoring Wooden at the historic site Wednesday.

The ceremony included traditional dances and the burning of sagebrush.

Hall has worked to set up basketball camps for young Indian players. He and the others said Wooden inspired them as a quiet man of honor.

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: AP)

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)