Hoops Hotbeds
Traditional talent hubs like Chicago and New York City still feed the college game, but newer breeding grounds such as Houston and Seattle are now steadily pumping hot prospects through their pipelines
SEATTLE
TOP PLAYERS
BRANDON ROY (Wash.)
AARON BROOKS (Oregon)
JON BROCKMAN (Wash.)
C.J. GILES (Kansas)
RODRICK STEWART (Kansas)
LODRICK STEWART (USC)
MICAH DOWNS (Kansas)
MARTELL WEBSTER •
MARVIN WILLIAMS (UNC) •
NATE ROBINSON (Wash.) •
CURTIS BORCHARDT (Stan.) •
TALENT POOL
13*
PIPELINES
For years Seattle's best players skipped town for college, but Lorenzo Romar has turned things around at Washington. Well-traveled assistant coach Kurtis Townsend has landed Seattleites during pit stops at Michigan, USC, Miami and now at Kansas.
Seattle guys play with a lot of confidence. We play free and loose, and we're somewhat flashy. We're not a coast that plays tight. I think West Coast players work on skills a lot more than the East Coast guys do.
-- BRANDON ROY
DALLAS--FORT WORTH
TOP PLAYERS
LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE (Texas)
DANIEL HORTON (Michigan)
JASON HORTON (Missouri)
JEREMIS SMITH (Georgia Tech)
BYRON EATON (Okla. State)
RODERICK FLEMINGS (Okla. State)
TERREL HARRIS (Okla. State)
CHRIS BOSH (Georgia Tech) •
BRACEY WRIGHT (Indiana) •
IKE DIOGU (Arizona State) •
DERON WILLIAMS (Illinois) •
JASON MAXIELL (Cincinnati) •
ANDRE EMMETT (Texas Tech) •
TALENT POOL 20*
PIPELINES
Building on its success with area native Desmond Mason, Oklahoma State signed three Dallas-region blue-chippers from the class of 2005. Texas has had pull here too, landing top prospects LaMarcus Aldridge and C.J. Miles (who later opted for the NBA draft).
Dallas has a great mixture of talent and coaching. Because of that, the top players from here are great athletes who also have a high skill level. We can all shoot, handle the ball and defend.
-- DANIEL HORTON
CHICAGO
TOP PLAYERS
DEE BROWN (Illinois)
ALANDO TUCKER (Wis.)
SHANNON BROWN (Mich. St.)
JAMES AUGUSTINE (Illinois)
JULIAN WRIGHT (Kansas)
BOBBY FRASOR (UNC)
DAMEON MASON (Marquette)
LUTHER HEAD (Illinois) •
DWYANE WADE (Marquette) •
TONY ALLEN (Okla. State) •
TALENT POOL
22*
PIPELINES
When he was at Illinois, Bill Self reclaimed Chicago for the Illini; now he's luring top area talent to Kansas. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has plied his hometown regularly, and Marquette's Tom Crean has sold his success with Wade to recruits. New DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright has a commitment from Will Walker, a local 2006 blue-chipper.
You can tell a guy is from the Chi by his attitude and the way he plays: with heart, hunger and a we're-gonna-fight-till-the-end attitude.
--DEE BROWN
PHILADELPHIA
TOP PLAYERS
MARDY COLLINS (Temple)
STEVEN SMITH (La Salle)
MUSTAFA SHAKUR (Arizona)
SEAN SINGLETARY (Virginia)
KYLE LOWRY (Villanova)
LEE MELCHIONNI (Duke)
JAMEER NELSON (St. Joe's) •
HAKIM WARRICK (Syracuse) •
TALENT POOL
18*
PIPELINES
The top city kids tend to go local (Temple, St. Joe's, Villanova), while many suburbanites head to Duke.
A Philly player wants to win and always plays hard. They say New York guys are tough. We're just as tough.
--MARDY COLLINS
NORTH JERSEY
TOP PLAYERS
RANDY FOYE (Villanova)
BRANDON COSTNER (N.C. State)
TERRENCE ROBERTS (Syracuse)
DARRYL WATKINS (Syracuse)
MIKE NARDI (Villanova)
MARQUIS WEBB (Rutgers)
ART BOWERS (UMass)
J.R. SMITH •
TALENT POOL
13*
PIPELINES
Rutgers's Gary Waters is making inroads here, but Louisville's Rick Pitino has secured commitments from two of North Jersey's three 2006 blue-chippers, Derrick Caracter and Earl Clark.
NEW YORK CITY
TOP PLAYERS
CARL KRAUSER (Pittsburgh)
CURTIS STINSON (Iowa State)
ALLAN RAY (Villanova)
SAMMY MEJIA (DePaul)
CURTIS SUMPTER (Villanova)
GARY ERVIN† (Arkansas)
JOAKIM NOAH (Florida)
LOUIE MCCROSKEY (Syracuse)
SHAGARI ALLEYNE (Kentucky)
RUSSELL ROBINSON (Kansas)
BEN GORDON (UConn) •
JULIUS HODGE (N.C. State) •
CHARLIE VILLANUEVA (UConn) •
FRANCISCO GARCíA (Louisville) •
SEBASTIAN TELFAIR •
TALENT POOL
28*
PIPELINES
Pittsburgh associate head coach Barry Rohrssen, a Brooklyn native, has been a force in New York City, but he isn't the only recruiter with his hooks into the city's talent. Villanova coach Jay Wright still works his ties from his Hofstra days; Rick Pitino carries name recognition in his hometown; and Julius Hodge paved the way for Gothamites to go to N.C. State. Can Norm Roberts start landing New Yorkers for St. John's again?
New Yorkers are up-tempo players, great competitors who play with high intensity. They're definitely the players you want on the court at the end of games.
--CARL KRAUSER
LOS ANGELES
TOP PLAYERS
HASSAN ADAMS (Arizona)
BRANDON BOWMAN (Georgetown)
CRAIG SMITH (Boston College)
JORDAN FARMAR (UCLA)
BRYCE TAYLOR (Oregon)
EKENE IBEKWE (Maryland)
GABE PRUITT (USC)
JOSH CHILDRESS (Stanford) •
TAYSHAUN PRINCE (Kentucky) •
KIRK SNYDER (Nevada) •
TALENT POOL
33*
PIPELINES
UCLA's Ben Howland has signed six Top 100 prospects from the Los Angeles area in the past two years, but USC is starting to power up under new coach Tim Floyd. (The Trojans will nab Taj Gibson, an '06 L.A. blue-chipper.) Lute Olson has shifted Arizona's attention toward Houston in recent years, but UConn is beginning to get a foothold here.
In Cali, our style of basketball is tough, hard-nosed. We like bumping and bruising. We don't get the love like New York and Chicago [do], so we try to get into your head.
-- HASSAN ADAMS
HOUSTON
TOP PLAYERS
DANIEL GIBSON (Texas)
JAWANN MCCLELLAN (Arizona)
CARTIER MARTIN (Kansas State)
DION DOWELL (Texas)
LANNY SMITH (Houston)
TACK MINOR (LSU)
EMEKA OKAFOR (UConn) •
T.J. FORD (Texas) •
JOHN LUCAS (Oklahoma State) •
LAWRENCE ROBERTS (Miss. State) •
NDUDI EBI •
GERALD GREEN •
TALENT POOL
18*
PIPELINES
T.J. Ford blazed the trail from Houston to Austin; he was later followed by Daniel Gibson. Arizona assistant Josh Pastner's ties to the area (the Houston native's dad, Hal, runs a top area AAU program) have paid dividends for the Wildcats.
When we play in Houston, it's grimy. It's hard-core. Once you step out on the court at Fondé [rec center], you've gotta be ready to bring it--or you're going to get put off to the side, and nobody's gonna let you play anymore.
-- DANIEL GIBSON
DETROIT
TOP PLAYERS
MALIK HAIRSTON (Oregon)
PAUL DAVIS (Michigan State)
MAURICE AGER (Michigan State)
JOE CRAWFORD (Kentucky)
BRANDON JENKINS (Louisville)
DION HARRIS (Michigan)
CHRIS DOUGLAS-ROBERTS (Memphis)
TALENT POOL
13*
PIPELINES
Both Michigan coach Tommy Amaker and Memphis coach John Calipari have close ties to mystery man William Wesley, who wields a strong influence, advising players from The Family, one of Detroit's top AAU programs.
In Oregon, [pickup games] tend to be laid-back. But in Detroit we get after it more. Nobody wants to get pushed around, so we're aggressive, physical, and we initiate contact.
--MALIK HAIRSTON
ATLANTA
TOP PLAYERS
RANDOLPH MORRIS (UK)
BRENT PETWAY (Michigan)
JERMAREO DAVIDSON (Ala.)
ROBERT DOZIER (Memphis)
TONEY DOUGLAS† (Fla. State)
JARVIS HAYES (Georgia) •
DWIGHT HOWARD •
JOSH SMITH •
LOUIS WILLIAMS •
TALENT POOL
17*
PIPELINES
For the last several years Georgia coach Dennis Felton has landed many of Atlanta's best players (that is, the ones who didn't go straight to the NBA), but none of those prospects has proved himself at the NCAA level yet.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TOP PLAYERS
JEFF GREEN (Georgetown)
CHRIS MCCRAY (Maryland)
BRIAN JOHNSON (Louisville)
ISAIAH SWANN (Fla. State)
JAMES GIST (Maryland)
ROY HIBBERT (Georgetown)
JARRETT JACK (Ga. Tech) •
KEITH BOGANS (Kentucky) •
LONNY BAXTER (Maryland) •
TALENT POOL
17*
PIPELINES
Maryland and Georgetown have divided the city's spoils in recent years, but North Carolina's Roy Williams has muscled in to sign freshman Marcus Ginyard and '06 freshman Tywon Lawson.
BALTIMORE
TOP PLAYERS
RUDY GAY (UConn)
JOSH BOONE (UConn)
CARMELO ANTHONY (Syracuse) •
JUAN DIXON (Maryland) •
TALENT POOL
9*
PIPELINES
UConn has established a beachhead in the Baltimore-- Washington, D.C., area in recent years. Jim Calhoun has landed Gay, Boone and blue-chipper Jerome Dyson.
The AAU scene in Baltimore is huge. The gyms were always packed, and we'd press and throw each other lobs because that's what got people hyped. We didn't know what half-court was.
--RUDY GAY
*Player totals culled from Scout.com's Top 100 lists for the high school classes of 2002 through '05, the past five Wooden Award preseason Top 50 lists and the past four years of NBA first-round picks. Hotbeds comprise the metropolitan area of each city. ‚ĆPlayer is sitting out this season after transferring or is academically ineligible. • Player is now in the NBA.
SI.COM
Read more about college-hoops hotbeds at SI.com/collegebasketball.
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