HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS TO WATCH
1. Chris Burgess, F, 6'10"
Irvine, Calif. (Woodbridge)
With the power of a big man and the speed of a little man,
Burgess can do it all. He has a good outside shot and the muscle
to play inside, and he's nimble enough to run the floor. As a
junior he averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds. He is said to be
leaning toward attending Duke.
2. Schea Cotton, G, 6'5"
Bellflower, Calif. (St. John Bosco)
After leading Mater Dei High to the 1995 California state title,
Cotton transferred to St. John Bosco and averaged 25 points per
game during an injury-plagued junior season. He has verbally
committed to Long Beach State, where he will play alongside his
brother James.
3. Shane Battier, F, 6'8"
Birmingham, Mich. (Detroit Country Day)
Battier attends the same school that Chris Webber did, but he
plays more like another Motor City roundballer, Grant Hill, with
whom he works out. A great one-on-one scorer, he averaged 21
points, 13 rebounds and five blocks as a junior.
4. Lamar Odom, F, 6'9"
Middle Village, N.Y. (Christ the King)
Odom, who averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds as a junior,
considered transferring to Maine Central Institute to get his
academic house in order. His decision not to transfer may be an
indicator that he is planning to skip college and go straight to
the NBA.
5. Khalid El-Amin, G, 5'10"
Minneapolis (North)
Once a lock to stay home and play for Minnesota, El-Amin reneged
on his verbal commitment over the summer. The quick point guard,
who has mn.'s finest tattooed on his left biceps, has lost only
one game in his last two seasons at North.
6. Ryan Humphrey, F, 6'7"
Tulsa (Washington)
As a football player, Humphrey is drawing attention from
Nebraska, Ohio State and Florida State, but his future may lie
on the hardwood. This summer, he was rated the No. 2 senior at
the Nike All-American Camp.
7. Anthony Perry, G, 6'3"
Jersey City (St. Anthony's)
Perry averaged 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. He
has led perennial power St. Anthony's in scoring each of his
three seasons; now that he has gotten better at creating his
shot off the dribble, he's sure to make it a four-year sweep.
8. Kenny Brunner, G, 5'9"
Compton, Calif. (Dominguez)
The point guard on a team that is 93-9 over the past three
seasons, Brunner will fit in nicely at Fresno State, to which he
has verbally committed.
9. Melvin Ely, F-C, 6'10"
Harvey, Ill. (Thornton Township)
His physical play has made Ely--who averaged 12 points, eight
rebounds and six blocks--the most sought-after post player in
the class of '97.
10. Tony Harris, G, 5'11"
Memphis (East)
Harris averaged 26 points, six assists and four steals for the
Class AAA state champs. One drawback: A lingering ligament
problem forced him to wear a cast on his left knee this summer.
11. Estaban Weaver, G, 6'4"
Columbus, Ohio (Independence)
After averaging 26 points per game as a sophomore, Weaver
transferred to Maine Central Institute, where he averaged 17
points per game before being kicked out of school at midseason
for violating the conduct code. He then enrolled at Independence
but did not play last season.
12. Elton Brand, F, 6'8"
Peekskill (N.Y.) High
Brand averaged 26 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks and was
MVP of the state Class B tournament. He scored 26 points and
grabbed 18 rebounds in Peekskill's victory in the title game.
13. Dion Glover, G-F, 6'4"
Decatur, Ga. (Cedar Grove)
Glover starred over the summer at the Adidas ABCD camp. He
scored 32 points on 15-of-19 shooting in the all-star game.
14. Edmund Saunders, F, 6'8"
Waterbury, Conn. (Holy Cross)
Saunders has small-forward skills and a power-forward body. He
averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds and has verbally committed to
UConn.
15. Cameron Stephens, F, 6'7"
Fort Wayne, Ind. (South Side)
Stephens, who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds, turned down
offers from Indiana and Cincinnati to make a verbal commitment
to Purdue.
16. Eric Chenowith, C, 7'1"
Villa Park (Calif.) High
Though he doesn't have great post moves yet, Chenowith, who
averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game, has attracted the
interest of Kansas, to which he has verbally committed.
17. Kenny Gregory, G, 6'4"
Columbus, Ohio (Independence)
As a junior Gregory averaged 28 points, eight rebounds, four
assists and four steals while shooting an astounding 67% from
the field.
18. Alvin Jones III, C, 6'11"
Lakeland, Fla. (Kathleen)
Jones has averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks over
his career, but some recruiters are concerned: As a junior he
was suspended for one week because of fighting during a game.
19. Luke Recker, G, 6'6"
Waterloo, Ind. (DeKalb)
Recker shot 59% from the floor and averaged 21 points, four
rebounds and six assists. He verbally committed to Indiana when
he was a sophomore.
20. Terrance Morris, F, 6'8"
Frederick, Md. (Johnson)
Morris, who has verbally committed to Maryland, had 23 points,
15 rebounds and three blocks when he went up against 6'10" Tim
Thomas last January.
21. Baron Davis, G, 6'2"
Santa Monica, Calif. (Crossroads)
Davis, who averaged 17 points per game, made big news when he
committed to UCLA in September. His half-sister made bigger news
two days later when it was discovered that she had purchased a
used car from Bruins coach Jim Harrick's son.
22. Max Owens, G, 6'5"
Durham, N.C. (Mt. Zion)
A native of Macon, Ga., Owens transferred to Mt. Zion last year
and averaged 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and three
steals for the national power. He has verbally committed to
North Carolina.
23. Tracy McGrady, F, 6'9"
Durham, N.C. (Mt. Zion)
Owens's teammate McGrady, a Florida native, drew national
attention with a dominating display at the ABCD camp in Trenton
this summer.
24. Ryan (Arch) Miller, G, 5'11"
Beaver Falls, Pa. (Black Hawk)
The brother of former Pitt guard Sean Miller, Ryan averaged 17
points and eight rebounds. He verbally committed to Pitt, then
switched to N.C. State, where Sean is an assistant coach.
25. Jumaine Jones, F, 6'7"
Camilla, Ga. (Mitchell-Baker)
In the state playoffs Jones had 38 points and 20 rebounds in a
semifinal win and, the next night, 39 points in a loss in the
finals.
--Mark Bechtel
