street & smith

SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Street & Smith: East Coast Bias? No Way--(Oct. 10, 1998)

We finally broke down and bought copies of Street & Smith's College Basketball preview for 1998-99, and Preview Sports' "1998-99 College Basketball" magazine. We kept hearing about the "East Coast" bias in these two publications, buy hey, these are well-entrenched, respected magazines, right? They've been doing this stuff for years, right? Why would they have such a bias? Don't they want to sell magazines to the one of the biggest basketball markets in the country? We just had to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about.

So after spending some dough, and reading the stuff about which high school kids are getting propped as "future stars" and which are not, we've reached some conclusions: Preview Sports is extremely limited in what they present, but what they say seems pretty evenly balanced i.e., it's doesn't seem unfairly biased toward one region of the country or another.

But Street & Smith, now that's a different story. Now they've got a demonstrable, empircally verifiable "non-West Coast" bent. Is that unfair? It is when they pretend to cover "High School All-Americans" because as the name implies, they should be truly representative of the best in the class from all across the U.S., not just one region or another.

Now both magazines get even ratings from us when it comes to their covers, and frankly it's what piqued our interest in the first place: Both have pictures of different UCLA players: Preview Sports has a cover picture of Earl Watson, and Street & Smith has a cover picture of Baron Davis. So we thought that at least they would be giving the western part of the nation at least equal coverage when it came to what's between the covers.

And that's pretty much the case when it comes to analyzing the various college divisions. Both have the same type of stuff about each of the conferences, ranking and rating who they think will win, and who will not be so fortunate.

But when it comes to the High School pre-season "All-Americans" that's when where Street & Smith just falls flat on it's face.

The Street & Smith list of High School All-American's is not just some small or random list that somebody slapped together. No siree, it looks like they put a lot of thought into this. It's an 8 page section of the magazine, which has pictures of some of the stars, lists 20 All-American teams, a first, second, third and fourth team, then lists senior players as "High Honorable Mention" or "Honorable Mention" All-Americans, and does the same for the underclassmen. In all, it lists about 344 seniors nationwide (so this would be the top third of all players who would end up in Division I next year, right?), and about half as many underclassmen. Clearly this is meant to be a pretty comprehensive, all-inclusive list of the nation's top players. It is, isn't it?

Well, we thought so, until we took a closer look. The High School All-American's are chosen by Doug Huff of the Wheeling Intelligencer. Wheeling is in West Virginia (and for you history buffs, you'll recall that's where Senator Joseph McCarthy gave his first speech about "communists in our midsts" and he had the "papers to prove it". . . except there were no papers. Ah, but that's a different story.) Now we don't know how much Mr. Huff gets around, but we're pretty certain that he doesn't get out to the West Coast a whole lot (ok, maybe he comes out for the Vegas Big Time, maybe). Wheeling is pretty close to Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, Maryland, and other parts south and southeast. You don't get to see a lot of West Coast ballers out there.

If you examine Mr. Huff's selections for Street & Smith's "All-American Teams," you'll see limiting factor of his own personal geography has on his selections. Out of 20 players selected to the top four All-American teams, he lists only Jason Kapono and Casey Jacobsen (who led the US Junior Team in scoring and won a world championship in Moscow) but they are ranked well down, on the Fourth Team of high school All-Americans. Carlos Boozer did get named to the First Team, so there's one other West-Coaster there, but the fact remains that they are the only three players out of 20 who live west of the Missouri river.

Steet & Smith/Huff's First Team All-American Team is made up entirely of non-West Coast players except for Boozer:

Keith Bogans (6'-4" Sr. SG/SF) from DeMatha, Hyattsvill, MD
Carlos Boozer (6'-9" Sr. F) from Douglas High, Juneau, AK
Donnell Harvey (6'-7" Sr. F) from Randolph-Clay, Cuthbert, GA
Brett Nelson (6'-3" Sr. G) from St. Albans, St. Albans, WV
Marvin Stone (6'-10" Sr. C) from Grissom, Huntsville, AL

The Second Team of S&S All-Americans is also all non-West Coast guys:

Brian Cook (6'-11" Sr. C) Lincoln, Lincoln, IL
Dermarr Johnson (6'-9" Sr. F/C) Maine Central Inst.., Pittsfield, ME
Casey Sanders (6'-11" Sr. C) Tampa Prep, Tampa, FL
Damien Wilkins (6'-7" Sr. F) Dr. Phillips, Orlando, FL
Jason Williams (6'-2" Sr. G) St. Joseph's, Metchun, NJ

And, so too, the Third Team All-Americans is made up of all non-West Coasters:

Jonathan Bender (6'-11" Sr. C) Picayune, Picayune, MS
Joe Forte (6'-4 Sr. SG/SF) DeMatha, Hyattsville, MD
Jason Gardner (5'-11" Sr. PG) North Central, Indianapolis, IN
Kareem Rush (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) Pembroke Hill, Kansas City, MO
Leon Smith (6'-10" Sr. C) MLKing, Chicago, IL

Here's the Fourth Team:

Matt Bonner (6'-9" Sr. F) Concord, Concord, NH
Samuel Dalembert (6'-11" Sr. C) St. Patrick's, Elizabeth, NJ
Casey Jacobsen (6'-6" Sr. SG) Glendora, Glendora, CA
Jason Kapono (6'-7" Sr. SG/SF) Artesia, Lakewood, CA
Tony Robertson (6'-2" Sr. G) St. Andrew's, Barington, RI

It doesn't get better looking at the individual listings of "High Honorable Mention" or "Honorable Mention" picks. Street & Smith listed the Top 20 (the first four All-American Teams) and then 162 High Honorable Mentions and 182 "Honorable Mentions" . That's a total of 344 top seniors in the country. Here's who they had from California:

Top 20:

Jason Kapono (6'-7" Sr. SG/SF) Artesia, Lakewood, CA
Casey Jacobsen (6'-6" Sr. SG) Glendora, Glendora, CA

High Honorable Mention:

Julius Barnes (6'-1" Sr. PG) Rowland Heights, Rowland, CA
Rafael Berumen (listed as "Nick" Berumen) (6'-9" Sr. F/C) Simi Valley, Simi Valley, CA
Justin Davis (6'-8" Sr. F) St. Joseph's, Alameda, CA
Blandon Ferguson (listed as "Brandon") (6'-3" Sr. SG) St. Joseph's, Alameda, CA
Andrew Gooden (6'-10" Sr. F/C) El Cerrito, El Cerrito, CA
Jerrod Jackson (6'-6" Sr. SG/SF) Inglewood, Inglewood, CA
Keith Kincaide (6'-4" Sr. SG) Compton Dominguez, Compton, CA
Tito Maddox (6'-4" Sr. PG/SG) Compton, Compton, CA
Joe Shipp (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) Fairfax, Los Angeles, CA
Brian Wethers (6'-4" Sr. SG) Murietta Valley, Murietta, CA

That's it. Just 10 out of 162 players.

Let's take a look at the players from the "Honorable Mention" category from California:

Aaron Abrams (6'-3" Sr. SG) Rancho Buena Vista, Vista, CA
Gilbert Arenas (6'-3" Sr. SG) Grant, Van Nuys, CA
Cardell Butler (6'-5" Sr. F) San Mateo, San Mateo, CA
Kent Dennis (6'-1" Sr. SG) --who is still listed as being at "Bell-Jeff" in "Van Nuys". Kent is from Cleveland, where he transferred more than a year ago, and Bell-Jeff is in Burbank, not Van Nuys. Cleveland is in Reseda. Sheesh, what list is Huff working from?
Nate Hair (6'-4" Sr. SG/SF) Capistrano Valley, Mission Viejo, CA
Dalron Johnson (6'-9" Sr. F/C) Verbum Dei, Los Angeles, CA
Chris Osborne (6'-9" Sr. F/C) Westchester, Los Angeles, CA

Not a bad list, but when you consider Mr. Huff only selected 8 players out of 182, and a total of 18 out of 344, it's pretty clear where his interests lie, or at least where his horizons end. This man doesn't write for a paper in West Virginia for nothing.

How bad is the anti-West Coast bias in Street & Smith this year when it comes to the High School All-Americans? Consider this: Huff doesn't list probably the top senior of the summer, Jamal Crawford (6'-5" Sr. SG) from Rainier Beach HS in Seattle, WA anywhere in his lists; not in the high honorable and not even in the honorable mention. Amazing. He also doesn't list Lance Allred (6'-11" Sr. C) from East HS, in Salt Lake City in any list. He doesn't list Mar'Quis Poole (6'-2" Sr. SG) from Compton Centennial either. Some people will say "see, we told you so" but there are way too many west coast kids, who were left out for this to be anything but the left-coasters getting hometowned.

Does it get any better for Underclassmen? See for yourself. There are 80 "High Honorable Mentions." Here are the California players who were "High Honorable Mention":

Tyson Chandler (7'-0" So. C) Dominguez, Compton, CA
Doyle Cole (6'-4" Jr. SG) Serra, Gardena, CA
Apolinar Fernandez (6'-9" So. F) Artesia, Lakewood, CA
Deshawn Stevenson (6'-4" Jr. SG/SF) Washington Union, Fresno, CA
Luke Whitehead (6'-5" Jr. F) St. Ignatius, San Franciso, CA
Felipe Williams (6'-3" Jr. SG) Crossroads, Santa Monica, CA
Andrew Zahn (6'-8" Jr. F/C) Redondo Union, Redondo Beach, CA

Seven out of 80. Sure that's more than some states got (like Montana maybe), but for the most populous State in the Union? California has about 3 million residents (according to the U.S. Census Bureau). In contrast, 28 of Mr. Huff's top underclassmen list come from his own geographic region (the Southeast), and it's a full 57 if you count the entire list of east coast players. In the underclassmen top list, there isn't a single player from Arizona, Oregon, Washington, or Nevada, and there's only one from Utah (Jesse Pinegar (6'-9" Jr. F/C) Brighton, Salt Lake City). What about Garner Meads (6'-9" Jr. F/C) from Brighton HS in Salt Lake City? What about Luke Ridnour (6'-2" Jr. PG) from Blaine HS, in Blaine, Washington? What about Jason Morrissette (6'-3" Jr. SG/SF) from Fairfax High in Los Angeles? How about Teyo Johnson (6'-7" Jr. F) from Mariner High School in Lynwood, Washington?

In the "Honorable Mention" in the Underclassmen, Huff's list is even more skewed. In it he lists 65 players. How many from California?

Four.

And then when Mr. Huff's only got four player to pay attention to, he doesn't even get their schools or classes listed correcty. Huff has Keith Brooks (6'-6" Jr. F) from Compton Dominguez listed as a "sophomore"; he's a junior. He lists E.J. Harris (6'-2" Jr. PG) who has been at Crenshaw for more than a year now, and who was the Cougar's starting point for the entire season last year, as still attending "Crossroads, Santa Monica, CA." Sheesh. Mr. Huff does have Steve McMaryion (6'-4" Jr. SG) from Pacific Palisades High listed, and he's got Jack Martinez (6'-7" So. F) from Artesia. Ok, two out of four isn't bad. Wrong.

But that's it for the underclassmen.

Street & Smith's high school team selections are a little bit better. Out of 25 teams, he's selected only two from SoCal, Artesia and Mater Dei. Now neither of these teams is, in and of themselves, a bad pick, in fact they are excellent teams, and he ranks them No. 6, and No. 19 respectively. But we can think of at least two other teams worthy of at least a top 25 ranking this year. How about Dominguez or Crenshaw? What about Westchester, which won the state championship, and which has reloaded? What about Arizona (Mt. View and others), Oregon (Jesuit) or any nuber of teams in Seattle. . . well, ok, so he did select Mercer Island at No. 22. and there are a ton of others in Seattle with top flight talent who might qualify.

So he gives 3 out of 25 to the west coast. Not great, but not bad.

Here's the rest of his Top 25 list of Pre-Season "Boys Top 25 Prep Teams"

1. De Matha, Hyattsville, MD
2. Mt. Zion, Durham, NC
3. Oak Hill, Mouth of Wilson, VA
4. St. Patrick, Elizabeth, NJ
5. Christ the King, Middle Village, NY
6. Artesia, Lakewood, CA
7. Martin Luther King, Chicago, IL
8. South LaFourche, Galliano, LA
9. White County, Sparta, NY
10. Provine, Jackson, MS
11. Central, Little Rock, AR
12. Duncanville, Duncanville, TX
13. Rice, New York, NY
14. Vincent, Milwaukee, WI
15. Newport School, Kensington, MD
16. New Castle, New Castle, PA
17. South, Bloomington, IN
18. Ballard, Louisville, KY
19. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, CA
20. Lower Richland, Hopkins, SC
21. Benedictine, Cleveland, OH
22. Mercer Island, Mercer Island, WA
23. West Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
24. Pleasure Ridge Park, Louisville, KY
25. St. Andrew's, Barrington, RI

So, is it fair to conclude that Street & Smith is a bit skewed toward the East? We leave that up to you.

Looking at Preview Sports Publications "1998-1999 College Basketball" magazine and their treatment of the high school All-American's reveals an entirely different picture than with Street & Smith. Preivew's recruiting expert, Jeremy Treatman presents a view which if not better balanced geographically, doesn't pretend that it's something it won't be: It doesn't pretend to be a listing of the best "All-Americans". It also makes no pretensions about naming any underclassmen. Instead, Treatman candidly states that his list, which is limited to 40 players, was chosen with the help of Dave Telep of Prep Stars Recruiting Handbook, and that it's just a list of who they believe will be "future stars."

So who do Telep and Treatman pick as their Top 20? Still only four out of 20 from the entire West Coast: Kapono at No. 3, Jacobsen at No. 13, Boozer at No. 16, and Mike Dunleavy at No. 20. But that's not bad, considering that fully 1/4 of the players selected were from the west.

And their treatment of the next 20 reveals another four west coast selections: Kevin Gaines (6'-9" Sr. F) from Las Vegas at No. 29; Andrew Gooden at No. 33, Brian Wethers at No. 35, and Konnell Knight at No. 39.

And if you count their inclusion of high school grad but current post graduate prep school player Doug Wrenn, at No. 32, who's really from Seattle, that puts it at 9 names out 40, or close to 1/4 of the list from the West Coast.

Our verdict: If you're looking for two fairly good treatments of the upcoming college season only, then you can't really go wrong with either of these publications. And if you want to see a fairly balanced, but admittedly limited view of the top players in the country, then check out Preview Sports "1989-1999 College Basketball." And if you want to see a list of mostly East Coast players which pretends to be a list of "All-Americans" and which excludes many deserving West Coast players, then you'll feel good about spending $5.95 on Street & Smith. But if you want a more complete list, a more balanced view, save your money.