The following is Prep Hoops Assist Class of 2011 player watch list. This list was composed utilizing and considering the rankings of numerous scouting services and publications. This is not a consensus list, but appears to be 80 players that most national sources consider to be the cream of the crop in the class of 2011.

The pictured below is South Carolina very own Damien Leonard a 6’4 Guard with a deadly shot. Hopefully we get more South Carolina Players on this list this summer.

We also added a video of Bishop Daniels from North Carolina;  if not the best, one of the best dunker’s in the class of 2011.

Tracy Abrams, 6′-1″, G, Mt. Carmel (Chicago, IL) ILLINOIS

Jamal Branch, 6′-3″, G, Grace Prep (Arlington, TX) TEXAS A&M

Bradley Beal, 6′-3″, G, Chaminade (St. Louis, MO) FLORIDA

Wayne Blackshear, 6′-5″, G, Morgan Park (Chicago, IL) LOUISVILLE

Jabari Brown, 6′-3″, G, Oakland (Oakland, CA)

Carlton Brundidge, 6′-0″, G, Southfield (Southfield, MI) MICHIGAN

Trey Burke, 6′-0″, G, Northland (Columbus, OH) PENN STATE

Kentavious Caldwell, 6′-5″, G, Greenville (Greenville, GA)

Matt Carlino, 6′-3″, G, Bloomington South (Bloomington, IN) INDIANA

Jahii Carson, 6′-0″, G, Mesa (Mesa, AZ) OREGON STATE

Michael Carter-Williams, 6′-4″, G, St. Andrews (Barrington, RI) SYRACUSE

K.C. Caudill, 6′-11″, C, Brea-Olinda (Brea, CA)

Michael Chandler, 6′-10″, C, Lawrence North (Lawrence, IN) LOUISVILLE

Angelo Chol, 6′-8″, F, Hoover (San Diego, CA)

Rakeem Christmas, 6′-9″, C, Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, PA)

Quinn Cook, 6′-0″, G, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD)

Trevor Cooney, 6′-4″, G, Sanford (Wilmington, DE)

DeAndre Daniels, 6′-8″, F, Taft (Woodland Hills, CA) TEXAS

Darwin “Dee” Davis, 5′-11″, G, Bloomington South (Bloomington, IN) XAVIER

Jeremiah Davis, 6′-3″, G, Muncie Central (Muncie, IN)

Myles Davis, 6′-2″, G, St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, NJ)

Branden Dawson, 6′-6″, F, Wallace (Gary, IN)

Nnanna Egwu, 6′-9″, C, St. Ignatius (Chicago, IL) ILLINOIS

Michael Gbinije, 6′-6″, F, Benedictine (Richmond, VA)

Sterling Gibbs, 6′-1″, G, Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, NJ)

Michael Gilchrist, 6′-7″, F, St. Patrick (Elizabeth, NJ)

P.J. Hairston, 6′-6″, G, Dudley (Greensboro, NC) NORTH CAROLINA

Maurice Harkless, 6′-7″, F, Forest Hills (Queens, NY) CONNECTICUT

Andre Hollins, 6′-2″, G, White Station (Memphis, TN)

Rodney Hood, 6′-7″, F, Meridian (Meridian, MS)

Mikael Hopkins, 6′-8″, F, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD)

Nick Jacobs, 6′-8″, C, South Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)

Nick Johnson, 6′-4″, G, Findlay Prep (Henderson, NV)

Sidiki Johnson, 6′-8″, F, St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, NJ) ARIZONA

Tyrone Johnson, 6′-3″, G, Plainfield (Plainfield, NJ)

Chris Jones, 5′-10″, G, Melrose (Melrose, TN) TENNESSEE

Myck Kabongo, 6′-2″, G, St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, NJ) TEXAS

Brandon Kearney, 6′-4″, G, Southeastern (Detroit, MI) MICHIGAN STATE

Trevor Lacey, 6′-3″, G, Butler (Huntsville, AL)

Shane Larkin, 5′-11″, G, Dr. Phillips (Orlando, FL)

Damien Leonard, 6′-4″, G, JL Mann (Greenville, SC)

Julien Lewis, 6′-3″, G, LaMarque (LaMarque, TX) TEXAS

Ky Madden, 6′-4″, G, East Poinsett County (Lepanto, AR)

James McAdoo, 6′-8″, F, Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, VA) NORTH CAROLINA

Sheldon McClellan 6′-5″, G/F, Bellaire (Bellaire, TX) TEXAS

Tom McCune, 6′-7″, F, Saginaw (Saginaw, MI)

Ben McLemore, 6′-5″, G, Eskridge (Wellston, MO)

George Marshall, 5′-11″, G, Brooks (Chicago, IL) WISCONSIN

Keaton Miles, 6′-7″, F, Lincoln (Dallas, TX)

Quincy Miller, 6′-9″, F, Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, NC)

LeBryan Nash, 6′-7″, F, Lincoln (Dallas, TX)

Anthony Norris, 6′-7″, F, Sam Houston (Houston, TX) MEMPHIS

Johnny O’Bryant, 6′-9″, F, Eastside (Cleveland, MS)

Dai Jon Parker, 6′-3″, G, Milton (Alpharetta, GA)

Norvel Pelle, 6′-10″, F, Price (Los Angeles, CA)

Marshall Plumlee, 6′-10″, C, Christ School (Arden, NC)

Zac Price, 6′-11″, C, St. Edward (Lakewood, OH)

Chasson Randle, 6′-1″, G, Rock Island (Rock Island, IL)

Marquis Rankin, 6′-1″, G, Vance (Charlotte, NC)

Austin Rivers, 6′-4″, G, Winter Park (Winter Park, FL) FLORIDA

Aaron Ross, 6′-7″, F, Parkview (Little Rock, AR) ARKANSAS

LaQuinton Ross, 6′-8″, F, Life Center Academy (Burlington, NJ)

Julian Royal, 6′-7″, F, Milton (Alpharetta, GA)

Mike Shaw, 6′-8″, F, De La Salle (Chicago, IL)

Shannon Scott, 6′-2″, G, Milton (Alpharetta, GA) OHIO STATE

Deville Smith, 5′-11″, G, Callaway (Jackson, MS)

Ryan Taylor, 6′-5″, F, Lawrence North (Lawrence, IN) LOUISVILLE

Marquis Teague, 6′-2″, G, Pike (Indianapolis, IN)

Adonis Thomas, 6′-6″, F, Melrose (Memphis, TN)

Sam Thompson, 6′-6″, F, Whitney Young (Chicago, IL)

Josiah Turner, 6′-3″, G, Sacramento (Sacramento, CA)

Kevin Ware, 6′-3″, G, Rockdale County (Conyers, GA) TENNESSEE

Dezmine Wells, 6′-5″, F, Word of God (Raleigh, NC) XAVIER

Byron Wesley, 6′-5″, F, Etiwanda (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) USC

Amir Williams, 6′-10″, C, Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, MI)

Nino Williams, 6′-5″, F, Leavenworth (Leavenworth, KS)

Derrick Wilson, 6′-1″, Hotchkiss School (Lakeville, CT)

Kyle Wiltjer, 6′-9″, F, Jesuit (Portland, OR)

Tony Wroten, 6′-5″, G, Garfield (Seattle, WA)

Achraf Yacoubou, 6′-3″, G, Long Island Lutheran (Long Island, NY) VILLANOVA

Popularity: 1%

Rob Taylor of the Buckeye Prep Report has an in-depth article on Nike Youth Basketball’s changes to their spring/summer circuit plans, announced last week in a meeting in Las Vegas.  Previously, Nike sponsored various traveling teams, tournaments for the traveling teams, and individual skills events and camps.

According to Taylor, Nike is planning on replacing the old standard travel team tournaments with the newly minted Nike Youth Basketball League.  Taylor states in the article that over four weekend, the 42 Nike sponsored travel teams will play in a league format in Virginia, Houston, Los Angeles, and South Carolina.  Each weekend will consist of 5-6 league games, culminating in a league championship.

Taylor’s report has the Nike Youth Basketball League schedule as follows:

• April 9 – 11 at the Boo Williams Invitational, Hampton Roads, VA
• April 30 – May 2nd, Houston, TX
• May 29 – 31, Los Angeles, CA
• July 12 – 15, Peach Jam at Augusta, South Carolina

The article states that positional “academies” and all-star events are still plan, without change.

Popularity: 1%

BallerCircuit.com announced that the 2010 Reebok Summer Championship, a long running summer grassroots basketball tournament was being suspended for this year.  The following is the press release from their website:

LAS VEGAS—Citing the loss of title sponsorship, ever-increasing facility costs and the general overall economic condition of the country, tournament officials announced today that they will no longer be able produce the annual Summer Championships, the nation’s most prestigious elite boy’s prep tournament held each July in Las Vegas for the last 3 years.

Featuring 300 teams from 44 states and three countries at its peak and 136 teams from 28 States last summer, the Rebook Summer Championships were produced in Las Vegas for the last three years by the same management team that produced the massive Big Time tournament locally from 1995 through 2006.

Building a series of summer events held annually during the special viewing period for college basketball coaches, the Summer Championships provided the template by which the National Collegiate Athletic Association developed and implemented the NCAA rules and regulations for sanctioning summer prep basketball tournaments.

“It’s hard to let go of something that we all worked so hard to develop, but we have exhausted all efforts to secure the sponsorship needed to offset the loss of our sponsors and without it, we cannot operate at the level that we developed that has become the standard for these summer prep basketball tournaments,” said Jim Allen, veteran Southern Nevada prep basketball coach who was a co-founder of these summer tournaments and director the last several years.

“We have a group of dedicated core workers of over 100 who contributed greatly to the success of these tournaments over the years and helped us to reach the stature we have, but without adequate sponsorship we cannot provide the quality experience for nearly 5,000 young athletes each year that we have and we will not produce an event if it is not up to the standards we have achieved. Because we so strongly believe in the value of this summer event and our commitment is so great, we will continue to seek sponsorship in an attempt to bring the event back in the summer of 2011.”

Using as many as 24 courts at 12 high schools in Southern Nevada and headquartered the last several years at Foothill HS in Henderson, Nev., the events have helped hundreds of high school athletes earn college scholarships.

Questions regarding the tournament may be directed to Jim Allen at 702.493.3689.

Popularity: 11%

With much of the basketball world focused on the horrible 2010 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Dar Tucker won the 2010 D-League Slam Dunk contest. Some hoop fans noted that the 2010 D-League Slam Dunk contest was more entertaining than the NBA version.

Dar Tucker beat Alonzo Gee to take the 2010 D-League Slam Dunk title. His winning dunk? The 6′4″ Dar Tucker dunked over 6′10″ teammate Brian Butch.

Here is the Dar Tucker 2010 D-League Slam Dunk Contest video.

Name: Dar Tucker

Age: 22

Hometown: Saginaw, Michigan

Height: 6-4

Weight: 210

Shoe size: 13

Position: Guard/Forward

My Home Court: Vets Park in Saginaw

Playing Experience: Arthur Hill High School, DePaul University

Current Team: Los Angeles D-Fenders

Favorite Sneakers: Jordan 1s

Favorite Player: Kevin Garnett. I model my work ethic and stuff off of him. The way he’s a leader on the court and gets the crowd into it, that’s how I play too.

Favorite Team: MJ and the Chicago Bulls

Go-to-Move: Either the in-and-out crossover, or pump fake and sweep through to the basket

I play: Because I love the game and it’s getting me to places that I would probably never see if I didn’t play

Coming up I admired: My brother. Back then, that’s who I used to watch all the time. Right now he’s at Robert Morris in Chicago. We played a little bit this summer when we went home.

My basketball moment: Winning the championship my junior year in high school. It was my first championship and my school’s first in like 50 years.

Popularity: 41%

Austin Rivers and Brandon Knight were teammates on the summer circuit but had never met during the high school season – that is until Friday. The pair of high profile players are known for their scoring touch and are considered two of the nation’s top players in their respective classes.

Brandon Knight is a senior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Pine Crestand and Austin Rivers is a Junior from Winter Park, Fla.

Their highly anticipated first encounter was nationally televised on Friday on ESPN2.

And what a game it was. Austin Rivers scored 41 points and helped the Winter Park’s boys basketball team to  an 87-76 victory against 2 time defending Class 3A state champion Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest and largely outplayed senior Brandon Knight.

Knight and Rivers played for Each One Teach One, a Central Florida club team. Rivers figures he’ll guard his friend throughout the game.

“You can’t guard him the whole game or you’ll be exhausted,” Rivers said. “I’m the best person to guard him, especially in the fourth quarter when the game could be on the line.

Brandon Knight who is closing in on Broward County’s all-time scoring mark? “He’s an aggressive player and a scorer,” Rivers said. “He likes to attack the glass and steps out to shoot the 3-ball.”

Knight has scored more than 3,300 career points, averaging 32 points, and has knocked down 86 3s this season. Pine Crest (19-4) entered Friday’s game having dropped a buzzer-beating 63-62 decision to Florida Air Academy, snapping a 30-game home win streak. Knight had 42 points with four 3-pointers.

Winter Park (Fla.) High School point guard Austin Rivers is one of the best prep players, pound-for-pound, in the country. HighSchoolHoop.com ranks the 6-4 junior fifth overall in its national Top 50. Rivers has been verbally committed to Florida for over a year, but this fall, decided to open things up and let Duke recruit him as well.

The younger son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers and younger brother of Indiana Hoosiers PG Jeremiah Rivers, Austin had a kill mentality in Friday night game against Pine Crestand School showing off why he is one of the top guards in class of 2011.

Popularity: 31%

Courtesy of  SLAM #128: With memorable high school careers behind them, John Wall & Lance Stephenson are ready to take over college basketball.

With conference play in full swing throughout the NCAA, a few teams have emerged as real juggernauts capable of lasting until April’s first weekend. Of them, Kentucky boasts arguably the nation’s best, most explosive, coveted talent. That man is point guard John Wall, currently second in the country in assists per game and the apple of everyone’s eye. Yet, before he was a Sports Center mainstay, Wall graced the cover of SLAM 128, and was featured in a story where Aggrey Sam artfully and accurately put the world on notice about what Wall is capable of. John’s cover mate, Lance Stephenson, is also gearing his team towards success. In the tough Big East, Cincinnati is a respectable 11-6, hoping to continue towards the head of the pack with Stephenson’s help. And, while Lance has not had the immediate impact on the college game that many once believed he would, let’s just say you should watch yourself before sleeping on him. On the cover, we told you these two were “Ready to Rock the NCAA.” Now they’ve gotten the chance and…well…yeah.—Adam Fleischer

words Aggrey Sam

Watching them play in December at the City of Palms Classic in Florida, it’s easy to start thinking about the future, specifically June of 2010, when they’ll be on the podium at MSG, shaking hands with David Stern. Neither of their teams won this event, the best high school tourney this season, but it’s obvious—whether it’s the athletic point guard from Raleigh, NC, splitting defenders on a spin move and then splitting two more defenders with a 360 layup; or the rugged shooting guard from Brooklyn shaking a quick perimeter defender with a crossover, then taking a hard foul from a post player for an and one—these two senior guards are special. Not exciting-high-school-player-special or going  be good in college special, but special-in-the-League special.

Let’s stop being vague: Lance Stephenson and John Wall aren’t just the cream of the 2009 high school crop—they are poised to be the cream of the crop during expected pit stops on the college level and beyond.

A little premature? Maybe…if you haven’t seen them hoop. Start with Stephenson—after all, you were introduced to him in a feature in these very pages before he started his sophomore year. The next in line at Brooklyn’s famed Lincoln High School, the alma mater of Steph and Bassy, Lance was talked about as NYC’s next big thing since his now-legendary summer 2005 tete-á-tete with then-rising high school senior OJ Mayo at ABCD Camp. The hype has cooled since.

Perhaps it’s the fact that he’s been on the national scene so long, perhaps it’s the scrutiny he draws on and off the court, perhaps it’s his all-business, chip-on-his-shoulder, on-court disposition—but it seems lately some media, coaches and fans have soured on the kid they call “Born Ready.”

“It’s good that people know me, but now, whenever I play, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s Lance,’ so they play the hardest defense against me,” says Stephenson, who recently passed Bassy to become New York State’s all-time leading scorer and was on the verge of his fourth straight city championship as we went to press. “But I get ready for that in practice with my teammates. I tell them not to treat me any different.”

“What’s so special about it is that these goals were preset,” adds Lance Sr, Stephenson’s father and AAU coach, better known as “Stretch.” ”It’s good to see all the hard work pay off. As a parent, I just tell him to play hard and let his numbers and accomplishments speak for themselves.”

They don’t paint the complete picture, however. Stephenson is a 6-6, 220-pound tank of a shooting guard, with a yo-yo handle, tremendous range on his jumper and the moves to either go around or through any defender. Imagine a smaller, more skilled Ron Artest physically, but with the mentality Ron-Ron has on the defensive end transferred to the other side of the ball. His game, honed by battling older, bigger players in his Coney Island neighborhood and during summer leagues throughout the Big Apple, is the epitome of a scorer.

“I just try to work on different things every game, but I play against older guys to get better,” says Stephenson. “When I play against my age group, I don’t think I’m as good sometimes because I might take bad shots.”

Are there more athletic players? Sure. Are there kids with more aesthetically-pleasing games out there? Without a doubt. Prospects with more long-term potential than him? It’s possible. But right now, if you need a kid in the prep ranks to get it done, Lance Stephenson is the guy you go to, hands down.

If you’re talking potential, Lance’s cover partner, John Wall, is probably your man. Read enough stories on ballplayers and the phrase “runs the floor like a gazelle” is sure to pop up. Well, Wall, a senior at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, NC, is more like a cheetah. The kid simply moves at warp speed. The Carolina native is a 6-4, 190-pound point guard with playmaking ability that is born, not learned. With his video-game handle, exceptional length, uncanny court vision and kangaroo-type hops, he’s a highlight waiting to happen.

“He’s playing on a slightly different level than everyone around him,” says Brian Clifton, Wall’s AAU coach with D-One Sports. “When you look at all his physical attributes and that he understands that his job is to distribute the ball—there have been guys who have been as athletic as him, but not as tall, and guys as tall but not as athletic, and guys who have both, but they think their job is jacking up shots and lighting up the scoreboard. What makes John special is that he understands getting his teammates involved is what wins ballgames.”

Wall’s ankle-breaking crossovers, in-traffic windmills and three-quarter court bounce passes were unknown to the masses as little as two years ago. Invited to Chicago in ’07 to try out for what was then called Reebok’s All-American camp, Wall quickly won over the grassroots gatekeepers with his show-stopping play. A star was born.

“That’s when I started taking basketball more seriously,” Wall recalls. “I didn’t think the success would come that fast, but after the first couple of minutes of went by, I knew I could play with those guys.”

His upward plateau continued, and after destroying the camp and AAU circuit last summer, Wall became a consensus top-five senior prospect in the nation. It was a far cry from his days at Raleigh’s Broughton High School, where he was viewed as a selfish—albeit talented—malcontent, who was cut from the team (what is it with these Carolina high school coaches?), who would never get it together in time to reap the rewards of his vast abilities.

“Everything’s changed—my whole life. When I go places, everybody comes to see me play,” observes Wall. “I just try to keep my circle small.”

“I’m so proud of him…I’m pleased with John’s progress as a man, where he came from and where he was headed,” says Clifton. “It’s been a lot to come from virtual obscurity to where he is now. From when I first saw him play at 12 years old, he always had blinding speed, but now he has more confidence, he’s a better leader and a better teammate.”

Wall, raised by a single mother battling health issues, was always a talent, but what stood out more was his attitude, a critique Stephenson hears now. Yet, while Stephenson has been in the public eye for what seems like forever and Wall is just getting introduced to stardom, neither is a stranger to controversy.

Dwon Clifton, the younger brother of Brian, took a job on Baylor’s coaching staff last summer. With Baylor being one of the finalists to land Wall—along with Memphis, Kansas, Miami, Oregon, hometown North Carolina State and latecomers Duke and Wake Forest—speculation is that Baylor hired him strictly to land Wall. While it’s obvious that it doesn’t hurt—the younger Clifton did coach Wall—he is also a former college player (Clemson and UNC-Greensboro).

Stephenson’s recruitment has come under fire, as well. On a visit to Maryland, one of his final three choices—as of press time, Kansas and hometown St. John’s were the others; he’s expected to decide a day or two before this issue hits newsstands—he visited the Under Armour headquarters in nearby Baltimore. The president of Under Armour, Kevin Plank, is a Maryland grad, former Terps football player and a booster for the basketball program.

“It was just an honest part of the trip. They gave us a tour and basically that was it,” says Stretch. “They showed us how they make sneakers, we met with the academic people, the coaches…we just saw the itinerary. If it was a violation, we didn’t know anything about it.”

With all that being said, it’s unlikely either player hangs around a college campus long enough for people to keep their recruitment at the forefront of their minds. Remember the hullabaloo when OJ chose USC? Are you still reeling from Eric Gordon signing with Indiana? Wherever Wall and Stephenson decide to go, expect a major impact.

“I think they play harder defense in college…but I don’t think anybody in college can stop me from scoring,” says Stephenson. “Playing college is a different experience, especially with a good coach who gets you prepared for the pros.”

“I can’t say I’m one and done,” he continues, conservatively. “If I play well next year, then I’ll come out, but if I think I need another year, I’ll stay until I’m ready.”

Wall takes it a step further, stating, “After my first year in college, I wanna be one of the top Lottery picks. You might see Lance and a couple other players in my class, too.

“I see myself in the NBA in two years, playing on somebody’s team, trying to lead a franchise to a championship,” he continues. “I just wanna be compared to one of the best point guards—maybe the best point guard—that ever played in the NBA.”

Ambitious, but not unrealistic. Still, when projecting them at the pro level, there are aspects of their games that need improvement. Wall’s biggest weakness is his J. While it has definitely improved since he first burst on to the scene, now that he has that target on his back, opposing teams try to make him shoot from the outside. With Lance, critics question his aforementioned attitude.

“I come from a tough environment, where everybody plays hard and uses a lot of aggressiveness…a lot of people don’t understand that, so I try to fix my attitude,” acknowledges Stephenson. “It’s really hard because that’s where I get my game from…sometimes it seems like people want me to mess up, but I just block that stuff out. I just play the game.”

“I listen to my mom and my coaches. They say, ‘You don’t wanna step down to anybody’s level,’ so I just try to dominate everybody,” says Wall. “It’s kinda tough, but I like the pressure because you gotta perform every night.”

That’s why they’re kids.

“With all that Lance has done to this point, it pretty much speaks for itself,” observes Eric Bossi, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com. “When you watch John and what he can do physically, it sets him apart.”

“Wall, he’s a natural. He has a combination of speed, athleticism and skill that puts him in a unique class,” concurs a coach from a high-major college program. “With Lance, anytime a player has a great reputation and performs at a high level under scrutiny, everybody takes their best shot. I always have tremendous respect for a player who continues to perform at a high level under those circumstances.”

In other words, don’t bank on them failing. One thing both of these two young men have in common: They’re competitors—they both wake up at 5 a.m. daily to work on their games, in preparation for the present and future—something that can’t be measured in Wall’s athleticism or Stephenson’s scoring outputs.

And unlike this story, the rest of their careers still remain to be told. Stay tuned.

Popularity: 11%

Yates sets Texas scoring record in 170-35 win:

Lions break 18-year-old record in fight-marred victory over Lee

The Yates High School boys basketball team set a state record and set itself up for controversy Tuesday night at Butler Fieldhouse.

The Lions beat Lee High School 170-35, setting the single-game state scoring record. Hardin-Jefferson had owned the record of 166 points since 1992.

But the Lions’ brush with history was marred by a second-half scuffle and questions of sportsmanship.

In the third quarter, a fight erupted after an intentional foul was called on a Lee player. After breaking up the fight, the referees told both coaches they would have to play just five players the remainder of the game. The other players for both teams spent the rest of the second half sitting in the stands.

“I feel very disrespected right now,” Lee coach Jacques Armant said. “I don’t understand why Yates just kept scoring and pressing when they were up so much. These are kids. It isn’t good to do that to other young men.”

Yates, which led 100-12 at halftime, is 14-0 this season and has won 39 consecutive games. The 100 points in the first half is also a state record and the second-most ever in a boys high school basketball game.

It was the eighth time this season Yates scored more than 100 points and the sixth time the Lions won by more than 60 . It was the first time this season Yates’ margin of victory topped 100.

While the large margins of victory are turning heads, Yates coach Greg Wise said he isn’t worried about his team’s reputation.

Defending state champs

Last season, the Lions went 34-1 on the way to winning the Class 4A state championship. The one loss was a 78-76 decision to Elsik in the Houston Independent School District Tournament. That night, Wise said he let his kids down by telling them to put on the brakes.

“We practice running, pressing, trapping every day,” he said. “If we get to a game and I tell them not to do what we do in practice, I am not coaching well. I am not leaving my starters in the whole game. We have 15 guys, and all 15 play.”

Wise said he shouldn’t have to tell his “third line” they can’t go out and score.

“They work really hard in practice, and when they go in, they deserve the chance to play hard and compete, too,” Wise said. “We are looking for another state championship, and we can’t get that unless we are continuing to get better and perfect our game. We aren’t scoring on other teams out of disrespect.”

Despite Wise’s intentions, Armant said other teams simply don’t want to play Yates.

“No coach wants to put his kids in a position to be embarrassed,” he said. “We have great kids on our team, hard workers, and I am proud that they played the whole game tonight, but you can see how coaches are hesitant to put their kids on the floor with a team that is going to score on them that way.”

National record: 211

The Lions could be on par to break more records this season. Yates is averaging 119 points per game. The national record is 114.6. Yates has reached the 100-point mark in three consecutive games. The national record for consecutive 100-point games is 14. The national single-game scoring record is 211 set by De Quincy (La.) Grand Avenue in 1964.

The Lions are ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps and No. 5 by ESPN. They just returned from trips to Hawaii and Alabama for national tournaments.

“We know what people say and some of it is negative, but I believe that Houston is an area that is great for boys basketball, and I believe we have been on the national stage this year and showed that there is a lot of good basketball here,” Wise said. “I think that is good for our team, our community and the Houston area.”

Popularity: 10%

Lebron James: Its more than just a Game

Popularity: 11%

What, you thought it would be somebody else?

This is what his high school coach said:

“He had the best hand-eye coordination and the best reflexes I’d ever seen. He did things that you can’t teach.”

And this is what the scout said:

“He has the longest arms of any player I’ve seen. He has huge hands and can outleap anyone. In 20 years of doing this, he’s one of the top 10 prospects I’ve seen at his position.”

This is where I tell you that they were talking about LeBron James.

The high school football player.

This is where you know that the State Farm-sponsored fantasy would not have been so far fetched.

This is where you understand that he might’ve been one of the best high school football players ever if he hadn’t skipped his senior year to hoop.

This is where you know Bo and Deion might’ve had company.

This is where you appreciate how good he must’ve been on the court to pass all that up.

And this is what his other high school coach — the basketball one — said:

“The hype doesn’t bother me, because I think he is one of the top five players in the country.”

This is when LeBron was a sophomore.

This is something else the coach said:

“He’s a little bit like Magic Johnson, in that he can really pass. Then he’s a little bit like Kobe. And he’s got some Tracy McGrady in him, too.”

Again, a sophomore.

“As a freshman,” the coach said, “he averaged seventeen a game, and I told people around here, he’s the best player in the state. They looked at me like I was nuts. By the state tournament, they started to figure it out.”

This is some of what the coach was talking about: He scored 33 against No. 1-ranked, D1-signee-laden Oak Hill Academy.

As a sophomore.

This is why that wasn’t surprising: He went for 25 points, 9 boards and 4 assists in leading his team to a state championship.

As a freshman.

He was the state tournament MVP.

Again, a freshman.

This is what happened in the summer between his first two years of high school:

He played at Five-Star Camp back when Five-Star was still the ultimate prep proving ground. He played with the underclassmen, and then he moved up and played with the juniors and seniors. And he made the all-star teams for both age groups.

This is what Howard Garfinkel, Five-Star founder and grassroots hoops Yoda, said about that:

“In the 35 years I’ve had this camp, that’s never happened before. He totally dominated. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

And this is where I apologize for mangling the timeline.

Back to his sophomore year: Another state title. Another state tourney MVP. The first sophomore ever named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball. The first sophomore ever named first-team All-American by USA Today.

This is how disappointing his junior year was: His team “only” made the state title game. They “only” went 23-4.

He won his second Mr. Basketball award.

This is something a sports marketing “expert” said during LeBron’s junior year:

“High school athletes are not reaping endorsement money right out of the box.”

This is how many zeroes would be included in the sneaker deal LeBron signed about a year later: Seven.

This isn’t the point, really. But it’s worth remembering.

This is what he did against Oak Hill as a senior: 31 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and a dunk that ended up on a SLAM poster.

In a 20-point win.

On ESPN.

This is what happened when LeBron played in a holiday tournament in L.A. a few weeks later: Tourney organizers sold programs for $10 a pop. Phil Knight sat courtside.

This is how many points he scored in his first game after the Ohio High School Athletic Association threatened to suspend him for driving a Hummer: 50.

This is how many points he scored in his first game after the OHSAA actually did suspend him for wearing a couple of throwback jerseys: 52.

That was against Westchester (CA) High, a top-10 team featuring future NBA defensive specialist Trevor Ariza. This was in Trenton, New Jersey. Nine thousand people paid to watch.

I sat next to Danny Ainge.

This is how many points LeBron scored in his final high school game: 25.

He team scored 40. They won.

This is the record of LeBron’s teams during his four-year high school career: 101-6. Two of those losses came to Oak Hill Academy. One of those losses was a court-mandated forfeit.

Because of the jerseys.

This is how many times LeBron was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball: 3.

This is unprecedented.

This is how many times LeBron was named USA Today Player of the Year: 2.

Also: Four-year averages of 25 ppg, 8 rpg and 5 apg.

Also: Four state title game appearances.

And three state championships.

This was fairly easy.

by Ryan Jones

Popularity: 10%

Rivals Top 10 High School Prospects Class Of 2010

2010 Rank			Pos	Ht/Wt	Schools
1	Brandon Knight Ft Lauderdale (FL) Pine Crest		G	6-3/185	list
	Knight might not be a freak athlete like the top point guards before him, but he possesses a complete game of an elite nature. His physical strength and tight ball handling get him wherever he needs to be on the court. And his shooting skill and court vision allow him to consistently finish plays. On the other side of the ball he is an elite defender who more than adequately rebounds his position. Top off all of this with high level competitiveness, and you have the top prospect in the country.
2	Harrison Barnes Ames (IA) Ames Senior		F	6-7/210	North Carolina
	Well rounded wing with an ever improving game.
3	Jared Sullinger Columbus (OH) Northland		C	6-8/260	Ohio State
	A big bodied post player who produces.
4	Josh Selby Baltimore (MD) Lake Clifton		G	6-2/183	list
	An electric playmaker with a fearless game.
5	Tobias Harris Glen Head (NY) Half Hollow Hills West		F	6-8/220	Tennessee
	Best scoring four man in the class.
6	Perry Jones Dallas (TX) Duncanville		F	6-11/220	Baylor
	Handles like a guard and has lots of upside.
7	Cory Joseph Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep		G	6-3/180	list
	High level point guard with all the tools.
8	Jelan Kendrick Marietta (GA) Wheeler		F	6-6/186	Memphis
	A long and highly skilled wing.
9	Kyrie Irving Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick		G	6-2/175	Duke
	Big time combo guard who can score and pass the ball.
10	Reggie Bullock Kinston (NC) Kinston		G	6-5/190	North Carolina

Popularity: 10%