SoCal High School & Prep Recruiting Report

The Sporting News National Top 10 Teams--(November 23, 1997)

The November 24, 1997 issue of The Sporting News is devoted to it's annual College Basketball Preview Edition. Not surprisingly, TSN rates Kansas as the No. 1 team in the nation.

But of equal interest to those of us who follow high school hoops as avidly as youth club, college and pro basketball, The Sporting News also released it's High School National Top 10, and it's regional selections.

Not surprisingly California had two teams in the Top 10, and one, No. 3 Dominguez High, Compton CA, was also rated the No. 1 team in West, over National Top 10 No. 9 St. Joseph-Notre Dame, which was rated No. 2 in the West.

Here are the lists:

National Top 10 Teams:

1. St. John's at Prospect Hall, Frederick MD

2. Whitney Young, Chicago, IL

3. Dominguez, Compton, CA

4. St. Patrick's, Elizabeth, NJ

5. Hampton, Hampton, VA

6. Catholic High, Lexington, KY

7. Miami High, Miami, Fl

8. Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA

9. St. Joseph-Notre Dame, Alameda, CA

10. St. Anthony, Jersey City, NJ

In the West Region the top five teams were selected by The Sporting News. They are:

1. Dominguez, Compton, CA-- 29-5 last year. "Two time Division II State Champions will be led by heavily recruited Tayshaun Prince." Prince committed to attend Kentucky last Thursday, November 19, the last day of the early signing period.

2. St. Joseph-Notre Dame, Alameda, CA--31-4 last year. "California's top ranked team is loaded with talent, led by 6-4 Ray Young, " According to TSN. Huh? If they are the "top ranked team", how come they're only No. 9, while Dominguez is ranked No. 3 in the U.S., and ahead of St. Joseph in the West. Maybe TSN doesn't know that Compton is in California. And about Tayshaun Prince, enough already. . .he'll be going to Kentucky next year.

3. Westchester, Los Angeles, CA--25-7 last year. According to The Sporting News: "Three top transfers bolster No. 1 team in Southern California." We think we know who the transfers are (David Bluthenthal, Brandon Granville, and Chris Osborne), but if TSN thinks they're the "No. 1 team in Southern California", again, we have to ask where they think Dominguez is located. Dominguez was TSN rated as No. 1 in the West and No. 3 in the US. Doesn't TSN know that Dominguez is indeed in Southern California; Compton is not a foreign country.

4. O'Dea, Seattle, WA. --29-0 last year. "Defending State Class AA champs are primed for another run at the title with veteran cast" says TSN. Of course that "veteran cast" includes Doug Wrenn.

5. University, San Diego, CA--25-4 last year. "Bill Walton's son, Luke leads a cast of contenders chasing the state title," says TSN. And Luke's kin Kam and Chris, David Abramowitz and Ron McMillan.

On the college side, TSN was more realistic than most of the other pre-season polls (many of which had way too much lead time before publication) ranking the UCLA Bruins as only the No. 23 team, just ahead of . . . the No. 24 Rhode Island Rams coached by former UCLA coach Jim Harrick. Others in the West ranked by TSN: Arizona at No. 4, Utah at No. 13, Fresno State at No. 16, and Stanford at No. 21 rounding out the top 25.

Others in the Pac-10, which was ranked as the 7th best conference out of 30 conferences, included California ranked 4th in the conference and 49th in the country, Washington 5th in the Pac-10 and 58th in the U.S., USC 7th in the conference and 92nd in the country, followed by Oregon State at 8th and 108 respectively in the conference and nationally. Oregon was rated to finish 9th in the Pac-10, and was ranked 120th in the nation. Finally Washington State was rated 10th in the conference and only 139th in the country. Others in the West included University of the Pacific was rated by The Sporting News at No. 65, while the University of San Francisco was ranked as te No. 67 team. Arizona State was 69th, St. Mary's 96th

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