The New England Prep School Athletic Conference or NEPSAC, is the most competitive high school basketball in America, year after year. Of course, as critics would like to point out, it should be, since it allows high school post-graduates to participate.
We, on the other hand, are only interested in the talent that is on hand at these schools. They are therefore, considered high school players just like all the other four-year players that we rank. Players, or post-graduates who are at these schools, attend to further their pursuit of a college scholarship and we do not believe that should be held against them in any form or manner.
As a high school graduate, a player's core and core GPA are "frozen," so these players for the most part are taking the extra year to get a qualifying test score. If a player does not have a qualifying core upon graduation from high school, he cannot receive a Division I scholarship no matter how high a test score he receives as a post-graduate. Most of the schools also have undergraduates and there are also players who needed their core, did not graduate from their high school, so their core would not be frozen and are classified as seniors.
This week we talked with Karl Henrickson, the third-year coach of Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine. Maine Central was the prep school powerhouse under former head coach Max Good, who left to take a position at UNLV and is now the head coach at Bryant College.
When we caught up with Henrickson, he told us that MCI is 18-4 in a year that Henrickson says is very competitive from top to bottom and the talent level is higher than it was last year. Three of his top six players in the NEPSAC have already signed, with combo guard Kenton Paulino committing to Texas; 6-foot-7, 275-pound Jai Lewis committing to George Mason; and 6-8 Luis Clemente committing to Texas A&M.
Of his top available players remaining, 6-8 Rodney Epperson is a forward with wing skills that Henrickson feels can also swing to the off guard spot. Epperson, who played at La Salle High School in New York and attended Redemption Christian last year, has strong slashing skills according to Henrickson, who calls him a "scoring machine." Like all players who need the test score, Epperson's recruitment has been slowed by not being a full qualifier, but everybody knows who he is, with LSU and Rhode Island being just two of the more recent schools to come away very impressed.
Wing Kevin Massiah, a 6-5 native of Canada, is a big-time athlete according to Henrickson, who is an outstanding defender and a very good 3-point shooter. Massiah has his test score, but being from Canada, there is a question about his core that will have to be settled by the NCAA Clearinghouse -- not to be confused with the Publisher's Clearinghouse. Henrickson feels that Massiah is a definite high major recruit and will be once his core is finalized.
Combo guard Daniel Rumph actually leads MCI in scoring. The 6-3 Rumph is rangy, all arms and legs, and very athletic, according to Henrickson, who also states that Rumph can "really run" the floor. Rumph is from Philadelphia and only played two years of high school basketball at Germantown, Imotep, and having then graduated from Parkway. Florida State was recently in and Rumph has also caught the eye of Texas A&M, among others.
Of course, with the uncertainty over their situations, the recruiting (schools) of these players will change drastically before it's all over.
The above especially describes the probable scenario for 7-1, 230-pound Blake Sholberg from Vacaville, Calif., who is the tallest member of the MCI team. Looking at the family's genes, Sholberg should have no problem muscling up. With three uncles in his family tree that range from 6-8, 260, to 7-0, 300 and up, Sholberg has a lot of buffets to look forward to in his future. Several programs, including Arizona, Kansas State, and Oregon have inquired about Sholberg, says Henrickson, who also adds that Sholberg is an athlete.
David Benezra and Mark Mayemura cover the national college basketball recruiting scene at their Recruiting USA (www.recruitingusa.com) website. E-mail at: hoopsusa@mindspring.com or call (818) 783-2244 or (818) 783-2212 for subscription information.
| |
|
