One of the country's top junior college recruits, 5-11 point guard Ricky Clemmons, has made a decision. News is slowly starting to be spread that Clemmons, a sophomore from the College of Southern Idaho, has secretly committed to Missouri. According to our sources, this commitment has been made for a while and should be announced any day now.

Clemmons selected Missouri over San Diego State, Gonzaga, Kansas State and Mississippi State. North Carolina State and Louisville, both of which had been seriously recruiting Clemmons, had backed away in recent weeks. Clemmons led CSI (26-6) in scoring at 18.2 points per game this season while shooting 40 percent from behind the 3-point arc (he also shot 81 percent from the free-throw line) and distributing 8 assists per game.

Other CSI sophomore stars are also making their decisions; 6-8 Golden Eagles power forward Jack May has verballed to Idaho. May, who started as a true freshman at Duquesne last season, selected the Vandals over Boise State. He averaged 11 points and 7 boards per game, while shooting 55 percent from the field.

Another starter from the College of Southern Idaho, swingman Tim Ellis, is going to visit Delaware, Wichita State and Kansas State in the coming weeks. A native of Seattle, the athletic Ellis averaged 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists per game, while shooting 54 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range, and 70 percent from the charity stripe.

One of the best recruiting staffs in the country (and one of the most unheralded) is at Valparaiso, which just received its third early commitment from a high school underclassman. Six-foot-two Jimmy Miles of Homewood Christian High School in Homewood, Ill., who is considered a major sleeper, has pledged to Valpo. He joins fellow high school juniors 6-6 Oumar Sylla (Our Savior H.S./Centerreach, N.Y.) and 6-10, 345-pound post man Kenneth Harris (Bishop Noll H.S./Hammond, Ind.) as early verbals for the Crusaders. Both Miles and Sylla are Top 100-caliber talents. Harris is also considered Top 100; he gave a verbal in his sophomore year of high school.

Valparaiso isn't done recruiting for the Class of 2003. Now that they've gotten the three early verbals, they'll take the best available player, regardless of position.

Other recruiting news:

Tennessee Tech has received a commitment from 6-3 shooting guard Ricky Hood (Tupelo H.S./Tupelo, Miss.)

Six-foot-five, 200-pound shooting guard Rodney Blackstock of Howard Community College (Big Spring, Texas) has given a commitment to Winthrop. A native of Greensboro, N.C., Blackstock wanted to play college ball back in the Carolinas. Blackstock also received interest from schools such as East Carolina and Old Dominion. He averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds for the 20-10 Hawks.

One of the best unsigned point guards in the West, 6-2 senior Patrick Haddan of Woodbridge High School in Irvine, Calif., appears to have narrowed his school choices. Haddan, who excels in transition and with his man-to-man defense, has a final three of Penn, Princeton and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He averaged 19 points, 7 assists and 3 steals this season.

Midland College's (Midland, Texas) 6-6, 210-pound combo forward Jeremiah Coleman was named first-team all-WJCAC Region V this season after averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds. The Timmonsville, S.C., native is a major athlete who is quick to the glass and tough in the paint. He's being recruited by Tennessee Tech, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Louisiana-Monroe, Southwest Texas and Central Florida.

Two players from Florida powerhouse Chipola (Marianna, Fla.) have made their recruiting decisions.

Six-foot Chipola Community College point guard David Hilton, a prep school player from the Northeast who played as a freshman at Hawaii, has given a commitment to Drexel. Hilton averaged 8 points and 5 assists for Chipola. He selected Drexel over Hofstra, Akron and New Hampshire.

Six-foot-four, 190-pound John Andrews selected Louisiana-Monroe over Florida A&M, Jacksonville State, Oral Roberts and Robert Morris. An All-Panhandle Conference honoree, Andrews is from Havana, Fla. He averaged 14 points and 5 rebounds this season. UTEP had also shown some interest.

Two Chipola sophomore power forwards are still in the recruiting process. Kareem Johnson, a 6-8, 250-pound power forward from Eufala, Ala., visited Charlotte last weekend. He's already visited Oklahoma State, Auburn and Idaho. Johnson averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds per game and was named All-Panhandle Conference. He's a physical, athletic power player who scores around the basket. Illinois, Oklahoma, UAB and New Mexico have also shown interest in him.

Also visiting Charlotte with Johnson was teammate Wayne Bransom, 6-8, 210-pound power forward from Pittsburgh, Pa. Branson, a part-time starter for Chipola, averaged 10 points and 9 boards this season. He has already visited Florida A&M, Southern Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe.

The best low-post player for Chipola coach Ryan Cross at season's end was 6-7, 230-pound freshman Michael Wilds (Dorsey H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.). He started the last 10 games and finished the season averaging 8 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 56 percent from the field. Wilds, who should be one of the country's top JUCO recruits next season, has already drawn early interest from the likes of Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Long Beach State and San Jose State.

Six-foot-nine senior power forward Derek Wabbington (Washington H.S./Phoenix, Ariz.) has committed to the University of Denver. Wabbington is a rebounder with a soft left-handed shooting touch. Denver also hosted 6-8 power forward Kevin Gardner (Peninsula H.S./Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) on an official visit. Gardner is starting to attract a lot of interest. He's a leaper who dunks, blocks shots and rebounds, and he plays in a very competitive high school league. It was Gardner, not 6-9 DeAngelo Collins (Inglewood H.S./Inglewood, Calif.) or 6-8 power forward Adam Zahn (Redondo Union H.S./Redondo Beach, Calif.), who was named Bay League player of the year.

Six-foot-three point guard Prileu Davis (Phoenix Community College/Phoenix, Ariz.), one of the more in-demand JUCO point guards this spring, has given a commitment to Louisville, following an official visit recently. Kansas, Texas A&M, UC-Irvine, Minnesota, New Mexico and Arizona State were involved in the recruiting. A converted shooting guard, Davis is a combo guard with good skills and the ability to score.

A Northern California native (San Rafael H.S./San Rafael, Calif.), 6-7, 225-pound power forward Dustin Brown, who played this past season as a post-graduate at prep school power St. Thomas More (Oakdale, Conn.), has verballed to Loyola-Marymount. Brown, who had verballed to SUNY-Albany last year, opened up his recruiting when Albany coach Scott Beeten left the program this season. Brown had known Beeten previously, when Beeten was the associate head coach at California. He's a strong, athletic forward with good leaping ability.

Two long-standing Purdue commitments from the Class of 2004 -- 6-5 forward Robert Vaden and 6-0 point guard Desmond Gadis -- are both transferring from Cathedral High in Indianapolis. The two players, who are literally as close as brothers, have transferred to Pike High School in Indianapolis. Vaden, who lives with Gadis' family, is considered the best sophomore in Indiana and one of the top sophomores in the Midwest, while Gadis is also a talented playmaker.

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.