Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (8/25)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Recruits

Matt Vogrich’s list reads Notre Dame, Wake Forest, UCLA, Stanford, Michigan, Northwestern and Miami-OH. Miami is the heavy underdog and the lone mid-major conference program that survived carnage caused by the Vegas blow up. Vogrich will take an unofficial visit to Stanford the final weekend of August. He’ll trek unofficially to Michigan before schools tips Sept. 5. The sniper’s first official visit is Notre Dame Sept. 13. Wake Forest follows on the 20th and UCLA is scheduled for the final weekend in September. Irish Eyes 8/19

When it came to pure performances in the summer, guards Kenny Boynton and Avery Bradley set the tone in July. They matched up against each other at the Reebok Summer Championships and both went on to have sensational endings to the July period. "Perhaps the best basketball I saw all summer was Boynton and Bradley going at each other in Vegas," Meyer said. "Both have such competitive spirits and are just killer scorers. The higher the stakes, the more these guys want the ball in their hands. They are also two of the best defenders in the class." "Bradley's defense certainly weighs in heavily in his ranking. In its simplest form, the game breaks down to scoring and not letting your opposition score. Bradley has a pretty good handle on dominating his man on both sides of the ball." Rivals 8/19

Guard Michael Snaer, from Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde, jumped from No. 47 to No. 11. He dominated the field in Vegas at the Reebok Summer Championships and looked the part of a big-time, instant-impact guard at the high-major level. "Snaer simply did it all in Vegas, and with a competitive attitude that bordered on nasty," Meyer said. "We just hadn't seen that from him. We knew he could score, but we weren't aware of his competitive instinct and his all-around game. Now we know his capabilities." Rivals 8/19

Rivals 150 for Class of 2009. Rivals 8/19

Harrison Barnes, a 6-6 junior from Ames, Iowa and Ray McCallum, a 6-1 junior from Detroit, tell Rivals.com they will make unofficial visits to KU for the Oct. 17 Late Night in the Phog. KU Sports 8/20

Lance Stephenson -- "Born Ready" is a highly effective player at the high school level, but there are major red flags surrounding his body language and demeanor. He's been hyped up as the next great NYC prospect but doesn't appear to have advanced his game in the past 2 years. He dominates inferior athletes using his tremendous strength and ball handling ability, but his understanding of the team game is severely lacking. If he tries to be a one and done college player, his NBA dreams could fall far short. NBA Draft.net 8/20

Joshua Smith -- Smith barely got off the bench in the final. At times he looks like a bigtime NBA center prospect with the strength to impose his will in the paint and the soft touch to knock down midrange shots and post moves. Other times, he appears slow and disinterested. He is extremely wide making him appear shorter than he really is, but it looks as though he's probably just 6'9. Without growing he will be extremely short for the NBA level as a center, but considering he's 1992 born there's reason to believe he could grow a few inches. NBA Draft.net 8/20

Nike's USA Select Team finished it's Brazil tour this evening with a 4-0 undefeated record. The team won it's final game against Paulistano, 97-83 in a very tough battle. Avery Bradley led the team in scoring again with 25 points, while Xavier Henry added 23, Milton Jennings had 13 points and four rebounds, Daniel Orton had 10 points and seven rebounds and Phil Pressey finished with nine points and seven assists. The eight-day tour was filled with basketball, but the players also went into the community, visiting two local orphanages and attending a professional soccer game. The team was also welcomed by Brazilian NBA star Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Gator Bait 8/23

Scout 2009 Top 100 Ranking. Washington Sports 8/23

After throwing a scare into Rucker Park hoops fans throughout the city, Lincoln HS star Lance Stephenson did suit up for the Boost Mobile Elite 24 All-Star game Saturday. Stephenson’s White squad lost to the Blue squad, 135-121, however, as the Class of 2009 star was visibly hobbled by a groin injury.That didn’t stop Stephenson from trying to put on a show. In the Park where he was dubbed “Born Ready,” the 6-5 guard had some fabulous one-on-one battles with St. Anthony’s swingman Dominic Cheek and Word of God point guard John Wall. Stephenson drove by Cheek a few times, and he scored 29 points, but his trademark bounce seemed to be missing - likely because of the injury. New York Daily News 8/23