One of the hottest young recruiting prospects in the country is a junior forward named Tyrone Nelson, who plays his ball for Hempstead High School in Hempstead, Texas. Where is Hempstead? In the vicinity of Prairie View A&M, about 40-miles north of Houston.

Just how hot is he?

Check out these numbers ... 42-15-15-15-28.

No, that's not his locker combination. That was the 6-foot-10, 205-pound Nelson's stat line on Feb. 8 when Hempstead -- ranked No. 1 in Texas' District 25, 3A Division -- faced their rival, No. 2 Halletsville High. In leading Hempstead to a blowout win, Nelson scored 42 points, had 15 rebounds, 15 blocks and 15 assists in 28 minutes of play.

While Hempstead (enrollment 420) isn't a big school power, Nelson obviously has big-time upside. That's why high major programs are flocking to Hempstead (25-4), hoping to get in on the Tyrone Nelson recruitment.

"He's an outstanding player and just an outstanding young man," said Herschel Taylor, the head coach at Hempstead. "Tyrone can do it all. In high school, with his size, we play him in the post quite a bit. But in college, with his skills and athleticism, he can play the small forward.

"He's agile, very mobile and a very good athlete," Taylor continued. "Tyrone has good spring in his legs, he's a quick leaper. Nice touch on the ball, he can really shoot the basketball. He's a very good scorer. Very good feel for the ball and a very good passer. Tyrone's the most coachable young man I've ever had in 27 years of coaching."

Nelson, who is shooting 60 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line, is averaging 24.3 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 6.2 blocks per game.

For Nelson, the big turning point was his play last summer with the Houston Superstars club program. "His skills were just starting to come on at the end of last season," said Taylor. "Tyrone got a great opportunity last summer to play against the best players in the country in AAU ball and it was a great experience for him. Very positive. He really improved significantly."

"It was a very positive summer for me," said Nelson. "It was hard, but it was something I'm looking forward to again. I'm just trying to work hard, accomplish some goals and get to the next level."

"Last summer really did a lot to develop him," said Hempstead assistant coach David Miles. "He was a whole different player, much improved, from playing with the Superstars. Before he was a little hesitant, but now he's a warrior. You better be ready to play when you step on the court with Tyrone."

For being a thin, wiry young man with a finesse game, Nelson also has some toughness.

"He's a kid with a great father and mother, who made sure he was a disciplined young man," said John Eurey, the head coach of the Houston Superstars club. "But don't let that fool you, on the court he can be as mean as a snake. And he's tough, wiry tough."

"Tyrone does respond well to physical play," adds Taylor. "He rises to the challenge. He gets to the free throw line a lot, he gets hammered quite a bit like Shaq does, but he never says a word. Never loses his composure."

Hempstead assistant Miles agrees, "He gets triple-teamed all the time now and he still scores. Most teams zone us now, but Tyrone doesn't care, he just plays. He's aggressive, but it's a quiet aggression, he doesn't talk any noise."

His list of schools is growing by the game. Already showing major interest in Nelson are the likes of Alabama, Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas, Michigan, Texas A&M, Arkansas, TCU, Houston, and Illinois. Most of these schools have already made the 40-mile drive out of Houston to pay their respects.

Nelson, who professes that Duke and North Carolina were his childhood favorites (neither school has shown any early interest yet), considers Kentucky, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, and Baylor among his early leaders.

"Tyrone is a late bloomer who's gonna be an NBA player if all goes well," said Eurey. "He had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a matchup early last summer against Amare Stoudamire, who many people consider among the top three players in the country, at the Atlanta Basketball Classic. He dominated Jason Fraser at the end of the summer at the Pump tournament; Fraser only had six points. Tyrone has very long arms, he's very quick, mobile, has leaping ability, shoots the ball well and he's a tough kid. He's gonna shock the world this summer."

Nelson will once again be playing for Eurey's Houston Superstars, the team which previously featured Texas' T.J. Ford and Duke's Daniel Ewing. And he's scheduled to compete at this summer's adidas ABCD Camp, held on the campus of Farleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck New Jersey, this July.

"For being a no-name last summer, he's gonna be one of the best players nationally in his class this summer," said Eurey. "Kansas loves him. Alabama absolutely loves him. And Texas was there when he had the quadruple-double last week."

Nelson's name may not be showing up on many of the top junior lists throughout the country, but a lot of the right people, those who really matter, the college coaches, seem to know who he is.

He's got a world of upside, or at least that's the opinion of more than one college coach, who have seen him play.

"I really like his athleticism, he's got great feet," said one college assistant coach (NCAA prohibits college coaches from speaking publicly about recruits or potential recruits, until they sign a national letter-of-intent), speaking anonymously. "Tyrone has very good feet, he's light-footed, active and he's got decent hands. He's definitely a very good prospect to have on your junior list.

"I think he's a Top 100 junior, who'll need to add some muscle," added the coach. "He's not a post player in college, he's a perimeter player. He's got skills and he shoots the ball better than some people might think. He can play over the rim, get both elbows over the rim, but in order to become a great college player, he'll need to get much stronger. He reminds me of Louis Truscott (current Houston star, averaging 12.9 ppg and 9.1 rpg) and he's a pretty good college player.

"It's a little hard to get a true feel for Tyrone because he does play at a smaller school level and he doesn't get to play great competition very often," the coach continued. "But, that's why the summer is so important, when we can see the best go head-to-head against the best competition. And we'll be there watching him."

Another Div. I assistant coach also has strong opinions about Nelson: "Boy, oh boy, the potential is there. He's not great, but he's pretty damn good. He's got skills, but he's no Shavlik Randolph. ... Tyrone needs more polish. There is no question that he's a high-major player, but is he a high-major impact player? I'm not sure yet.

"He could be another Emeka Okafor (UConn's freshman center who's averaging 8.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 4.2 blks), a prospect who really emerges into a college star once he gets to the right college program. He could be that type of player who makes coach say 'Damn, I didn't know he was that good'," continued the assistant. "I don't think he's a three (small forward), I think he's gonna be a power forward on the college level. He's comparable to Marcus Haislip (current Tennessee star, averaging 16.3 ppg and 6.7 rpg this season), they were the same player at the same stage. But the upside is there, he's long, extremely athletic and is always around the ball. He's just a little raw, but we're talking about a 16 year-old."

Yes, many of the nation's top college programs will be out this summer (the NCAA's open evaluation period is in the month of July this year) to check out the tall, wiry 16-year old (Nelson will turn 17 on July 16) from Hempstead, Texas.

In fact, college coaches should be out en masse during the weekend of April 12-14 when Nelson will be among the top prospects showcased at the 4th Annual adidas Texas Superstar Classic at Clear Lake High School in Houston. Eurey's Superstar Classic looks to be one of the spring's top tournaments with many of the nation's top club teams from across the country competing.

Sanctioned by the Texas state high school federation, the Superstar Classic will be one of the few events during the spring evaluation period, which will allow college coaches to be present to view and evaluate players. Normally, college coaches have been able to utilize the spring to view prospects competing for the club teams at events across the country. But the NCAA changed their rules this year and they are no longer certifying spring events, putting the responsibility of approving or sanctioning such events in the jurisdiction of state high school federations. Unfortunately for high school players, the vast majority of state high school federations have shown a great reluctance sanction club events.

Fortunately for Tyrone Nelson, he's already on the recruiting radar screens for many of the nation's top powerhouse programs.

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.