blue ribbon all americans

Each year, the Blue Ribbon College Yearbook, considered by many to be the bible of information for college hoops, with great team and player profiles, coaching information, and just a ton of information, features it's own selections of "Blue Ribbon All-Americans" from the college ranks. They also feature their selections of "High School All-Americans."

We're not going to post up the entire list of selections for the Blue Ribbon High School All-Americans; if you want to see the whole thing, you'll have to purchase the Yearbook, which is well worth it. You can order it online by using this link, or you can try to find it on newsstands (although candidly, we have not seen it on the newsstands around LA in years, and that's probably because it gets snapped up right away; so if you want a copy, the best way to get one is to order it online).

Brick Oettinger of The Sporting News and Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook selects the "Ben Wilson 44" which is Blue Ribbon's top list of high school prospects, the truly elite players from all over the U.S. This year, the list of 44 (consisting of a First, Second and Third Team, and "Other Top 44 Members" featured 30 seniors, 5 prep school players, and 9 juniors. There were no freshmen or sophomores on the list.

Why does Blue Ribbon call it the "Ben Wilson High School Top 44?"

Ben Wilson was Blue Ribbon's 1984-85 Co-High School Player of the Year. In that same year, he died tragically, a victim of a shooting outside his high school campus.

As a junior he led Chicago's Simeon High School to the Illinois State Championship. In the summer of '84, he was selected as the top player at the ABCD Camp in Princeton, NJ., (back when it was known as "Nike/ABCD," before Sonny Vacarro took the camp over to adidas). Wilson finished the summer as the highest rated player, and entered his senior year regarded by most as the top high school senior in the country. Just a few days before the first game of his senior year, Ben Wilson was shot, less than a block from his high school campus. He died in a Chicago hospital less than a day later.

Blue Ribbon has this to say about Ben Wilson: "Anyone who saw Wilson play knows he would have gone on to become one of the all-time greats to ever come out of Chicago. His memory is yet another reminder of the toll random, senseless violence has taken on us all. It is in the memory of Ben Wilson that the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook again dedicates its High School Top 44."

Named to the "First Team" of the Top 44 from SoCal were Tyson Chandler (7'-0" Jr. C) from Compton Dominguez (one of the few juniors overall ) and DeShawn Stevenson (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) who has verbally committed to Kansas.

There were no SoCal players on the "Second Team" but for all you USC fans out there (and Indiana and Duke fans too), Jared Jeffries (6'-10" Sr. PF) from Bloomington was named to the Second Team.

The Third team likewise didn't feature any SoCal (nor any other California) players, and indeed there was no one from the West Coast on it either.

The "Other Top 44 Members" only included two SoCal players: Travon Bryant (6'-8" Sr. PF) from LB Jordan, who is going to select from among Cal, Kansas, Missouri, USC, and a few others; and Omar Weaver (6'-7" Sr. SG) from Compton Centennial, who is reportedly looking at several different schools, including Fresno State.

Blue Ribbon then featured it's "100 More Stars of the Future" as a part of their All-American selections. The list of 100 featured the following players from Southern California:

DeAngelo Collins (6'-9" So. PF) Inglewood
Apolinar Fernandez (6'-9" Jr. F) Artesia
Gabriel Hughes (6'-10" Sr. C) New Hampton Prep (formerly of Bishop Montgomery)
Teyo Johnson (6'-7" Sr. PF) Mira Mesa
Brennan Martin (6'-7" Sr. SF/SG) Trabuco Hills
Jack Martinez (6'-8" Jr. F) Artesia
Jamal Sampson (6'-11" Jr. C) Mater Dei
Wesley Stokes (5'-10" Sr. PG) Long Beach Poly
Andrew Zahn (6'-9" Sr. PF/C) Redondo Union

Blue Ribbon selected an "Honorable Mention High School All-America Team" (compiled by David Benezra and Mark Mayemura of Recruiting USA) consisting of approximately 400 more players from all over the country (49 States and the District of Columbia). We're not going to reprint the entire list, but we'll just tell you who was selected from Southern California, since this is, after all "SoCalHoops."

Senior All-Americans (Honorable Mention)	Sophomore All-Americans (Honorable Mention)
Deshawn Anderson (6'-1" Sr. SG) Fresno Washington Union Jacoby Atako (6'-1" PG) Santa Monica Nick Booker (6'-6" SF/SG) Bishop's Keith Brooks (6'-5" PF) Compton Dominguez Doyle Cole (6'-5" SG) Gardena Serra Jesse Foster (6'-7" SF) Campbell Hall Branduinn Fullove (6'-5" SG/SF) Simi Valley Amon Gordon (6'-4" SG) Mira Mesa Jason Grier (6'-2" SG) Heritage Christian Michael Hall (6'-3" SG) San Bernardino Pacific E.J. Harris (6'-3" PG) Crenshaw Jammie Harris (6'-6" SF/PF) Cleveland Andre Hazel (6'-0" PG) Artesia Cedric Thompkins (6'-7" PF/SF) Westchester Larry Johnson (6'-4" SG) Compton Dominguez Tommie Johnson (6'-4" SG) Crenshaw David Joiner (6'-7" SF) Rialto Will Kimble (6'-9" PF/C) San Bernardino Pacific Brock Kyler (6'-7" PF/SF) El Modena Russell Lakey (6'-0" PG) Harvard-Westlake Michah McKinney (6'-3" SG/PG) Compton Dominguez Brett Michel (6'-6" SF/SG) Simi Valley Steve Miller (6'-3" SG) Anaheim Ryan Mollins (6'-4" SG/SF) Redondo Union Eugene Moore (6'-8" PF/SF) LA Washington Steve Moore (6'-2" SG) Compton Dominguez Jason Morrissette (6'-5" SG/SF) Fairfax Ellis Myles (6'-7" SF) Compton Centennial James Phillips (6'-4" SG/SF) Temecula Valley James Profit (6'-6" SF/SG) San Diego Serra Brian Pruitt (6'-5" SG/SF) Bishop Montgomery Allan Purnell (6'-3" SG) Savanna Lamar Ruffin (6'-7" SF/PF) Murrieta Valley Aerick Sanders (6'-10" C) Gardena Serra Steve Scoggin (6'-1" SG) Mater Dei Jonathon Steven (6'-5" SG/SF) Esperanza Joe Travis (6'-9" PF) Long Beach Poly Chris Walton (6'-8" PF) USDHS Kam Walton (6'-8" PF/SF) USDHS Demiel Ware (6'-5" SG/SF) Arlington Alfred Williams (6'-3" SG/PG) Bakersfield DeMarcus Williams (6'-8" PF/C) Upland Felipe Williams (6'-3" SG) Crossroads Matt Winter (6'-3" PG/SG) Heritage Christian D.J. Wyatt (5'-7" PG) Gardena Serra	Evan Burns (6'-6" PF) Fairfax Chad Carter (6'-7" PF) Arlington Tim Drisdom (6'-3" PG/SG) Calvary Chapel Downey David Gale (6'-0" PG) Buckley Patrick Haddan (6'-0" PG) Mater Dei Tye Jaun Hatter (6'-5" SF/SG) Upland Bobby Jones (6'-3" SG) Compton Dominguez Franklin Matos (6'-3" SG/PG) Artesia Jason McKinney (5'-10" PG) Westchester J.R. Reese (6'-3" SG) Corona Centennial Charlie Rodrizuez (6'-7" PF) Clovis West Darius Sanders (6'-4" PF) Compton Dominguez Will Sheslow (6'-0" SG/PG) Montclair Prep Thomas Shewmake (6'-8" SF/PF) Cathedral City Jon Steffanson (6'-5" SG/SF) Artesia Mikey Strawberry (6'-3" SG/SF) Mater Dei Jamaal Walls (6'-6" PF/C) Crenshaw Donald Wilson (6'-2' SG) LA Dorsey Adam Zahn (6'-9" SF/SG) Redondo Union
Junior All Americans (Honorable Mention)	Freshmen All Americans (Honorable Mention)
Brian Baker (6'-0" PG/SG) Mater Dei Torin Beeler (6'-5" SF/SG) Calvary Chapel Santa Ana Chad Bell (6'-11" C) Westchester Scott Borchart (6'-8" PF) Chaminade Cedric Bozeman (6'-4" PG/SG) Mater Dei Jason Braxton (6'-1" PG/SG) Canyon Springs Jason Burrell (6'-2" PG/SG) Etiwanda Josh Childress (6'-5" SG) Mayfair Sean Cole (6'-6" SF) Pacific Hills Errick Craven (6'-3" SG/SF) Bishop Montgomery Derrick Craven (6'-3" SG/SF) Bishop Montgomery Nick Curtis (6'-7" PF) Oxnard Anthony Davis (6'-4" SG/SF) Cleveland Kenny D'Oyen (5'-9" PG) Bishop Montgomery Eddie Draughan (6'-6" SF/SG) Mayfair Josh Dunaj (6'-0" PG) Riverside Poly Kyle Egkan (6'-8" F) Villa Park Keilon Fortune (5'-11" PG) Compton Dominguez Isaiah Fox (6'-9" PF) Crossroads Alex Graham (6'-11" C) Redlands Chris Hernandez (6'-1" PG) Clovis West Damon Jenkins (6'-2" SG) Dos Pueblos James Jenkins (6'-7" PF/SF) Crescenta Valley Phillip Johnbson (6'-11" C) Arroyo Grande Matt MacGinnis (6'-3" SG) Villa Park Kris Maxey (6'-2" SG) Lake Elsinore Shaun Michel (6'-2" PG) Simi Valley David Newkirk (6'-5" SF) Maranatha Floyd North (6'-3" SG) Helix Rory O'Neil (6'-10" PF) Ridgecrest Burroughs Cody Pearson (6'-3" SG/SF) Sherman Oaks Notre Dame Ryan Reyes (6'-1" SG/PG) Artesia Marcus Shelby (6'-3" SG) St. Monica Craig Smigh (6'-6" SF/PF) Fairfax David Sybesma (6'-4" SG) Corona Centennial Dijon Thompson (6'-6" SF) Redondo Union Dustin Villepigue (6'-9" PF/SF) Simi Valley Wes Wardrop (6'-3" SG) Villa Park Bryan Williams (6'-2" SG) Corona Centennial Jamaal Williams (6'-7" SF/PF) Corona Centennial Skyler Wilson (5'-10" PG) La Quinta	Jarrod Boswell (6'-9" C) San Deigo El Capitan Richard Cobbs (6'-5" SG/SF) Canyon Springs Robert Locke (6'-0" SG/PG) Campbell Hall Trevonte Nelson (5'-10" PG) Fontana Sean Phaler (6'-8" F) Villa Park Harrison Schaen (6'-7" PF/SF) Mater Dei Westley Washington (6'-2" SG/PG) Fontana Derrick Williams (6'-3" SG) Campbell Hall Trayvon Williams (6'-4" SG/SF) Fontana