First my criteria; I have been asked over the years what player I would recruit to either 1.) win a national championship or 2.) build a program around.
Combining those two here is my top-10 for 2005.
1. Marcus Williams, 6-6 wing Roosevelt. Since the first time I saw him as an eighth grader up at Seattle U. I have loved Marcus’ game. He’s all business on the court, very smooth. He reminded me a bit of former NBA and UCLA star Jamaal (Keith) Wilkes. Marcus has a complete package of skills but what I have always liked about him is his mental game. Marcus does not compound mistakes. If he gets picked on the offensive end he does not compound it with a dumb foul trying to get it back quickly. I always thought Brian Morrison had that problem. And you know how much I liked B-Mo.
2. Jon Brockman, 6-7 forward Snohomish. Again I draw on my first impression of Brockman as an eighth grader playing at the Mount Vernon tournament in early June. I walked over to Coach Len Bone and asked “who’s that beast?” He tells me. I ask how old. I almost faint when Bone tells me he’s an eighth grader. Jon was about 6-4 and 230 and looked like a grown man. His major plus is his intensity and warrior-like approach to the game. And who can forget the quickness he showed at state as a frosh when he split a pair of future D-1 Garfield guys (I’ll spare them their dignity after being “faced” by a freshman) with a lightning spin move. He then pretty well carried them to the basket for a very manly dunk. Alvin Snow is the toughest guy I have seen on the court in the last 10 years watching local h/s hoops. Jon Brockman is next.
3. Martell Webster, 6-6 wing Seattle Prep. Martell may well be the best of the litter in the long run but I’d take Marcus or Jon before I’d recruit him. Both of those guys will be around for the long haul and I don’t want a guy who could realistically go to the show after 2 years. Again I remember my first time seeing Martell. It was at team camp at WWU. Prep Coach Chris Miller had told me at state that he was taking the summer off and leaving it all to his assistants. So along comes August and there’s Coach up at Western. He all but runs over when he sees me and asks if I had seen his freshman. Nope Coach. In walks Martell; Miller calls him over and introduces us. After Martell heads off to get ready for the next game Miller smiles and says “he’s better than Bond,” referring to Erik Bond who had just graduated from Prep and was headed to Cal. I’m thinking better than Bond as a freshman, but after watching him I’m thinking Miller may have meant better than Bond right now.
4. Jordan Sutton, 6-0 point guard, Bethel. Why Jordan Sutton? Ice in his veins. This kid does not know pressure. Jordan has a great combination of shooting and passing skills, loves to compete and has tremendous confidence without the cockiness that can tend to come with it. Jordan is not afraid to take the big shot and he did just that at state when he barely moved the net with a long jumper in the final seconds to beat Franklin. And while everyone got all excited, Jordan kept his composure, realizing that there was still time on the clock and that minds needed to be on defense, if but for fractions of a second. I love guys who can think on the go. He has not gotten the hype of others but if I was recruiting a point guard, I’d want Jordan first.
5. Terrance Williams, 6-6 guard, Rainier Beach. T-Wub wants to be a point guard and he could be a very well end up being a good one with his assist-first mentality. But if he’s going to be on my team he’ll be at the 2 or 3 because of his size, athleticism and muscle. Big, strong, jumps out of the gym and the motor is always running. Terrance once told me that he wants to get five assists before he thinks about taking a shot; unless of course it's a steal that leads to a breakaway jam. You know T-Wub will not be intimidated by big games, he's played in 3 state title games in 3 years. What pressure?
6. Artem Wallace, 6-8 forward, Toledo. Huge, quick, strong, possessive of very nice post skills and can step out and knock down shots. Saw him for the first time after his freshman year going head-to-head with Gonzaga's David Pendergraft. Kid did good and I thought then he would blossom into a very good prospect. He has. Artem, who continues to add muscle (he's huge) showed his stuff at the Pump camp last summer and it led to an unknown small school kid from SW Washington becoming one of the most recruited players on the West Coast. He reminds me of some guy names Casey who played over in Spokane a few years back.
7. Alex Tiefenthaler, 6-8 forward, Bethel. Alex has been fun to watch grow up on the court. He has really worked his tail off to develop an outside game and now shoots the trey with great accuracy. And he’s a very fearless competitor. Besides that, he’s also one of those high GPA kinda guys off the court. So the bottom line; he is big, strong, fast up and down the court, can shoot it, has smarts. Hey, I want him on my team. And I keep in mind that he played for Coach Pat Mullen so I know he’s been well coached. Hey, maybe I'd take Mullen as my coach for these guys.
8. Mitch Johnson, 6-0 point guard, O’Dea. Probably the best “court sense” guy in his class, Mitch really understands the game. His shot isn’t pretty but it goes in. He’s not impressively fast but he gets to the spot on D effectively. He's an excellent passer and very cool under pressure. Bottom line; Mitch Johnson is a winner. Sure he's not real big, sure he's not the fastest guy going 94 feet, sure he has an awkward shot. But the kid knows how to win. You have to like those blood lines too, what with pops having played a little hoops himself and all that. And after playing for Coach Phil Lumpkin you know he has tough skin and won't freak the first time you have to, err well, motivate him a little sternly. Know what I mean Vern?
9. Micah Downs, 6-8 wing, Bothell. Very skilled offensively but at times I thought he dogged it on defense. He’s gotten better since I first saw him last summer but quite honestly I didn’t understand the hype early in the 2003-2004 season when I saw him play. The recruiting talk of the likes of Kansas, Duke etc. was impressive but I was kinda thinking more along the lines of say SPU or Seattle U. I hope he proves me wrong. He is wire thin, handles it well, has a good shot and throws down some nasty jam. Lots of comparisons to that Dunleavy kid down in Portland. I'm just still not convinced.
10. Tommy Craddock, 6-8 forward/post, Mariner. Gets better every time I see him. Coach Dexter Griffen grabbed me in the parking lot at Jackson during the district tourney in 2003 when Tommy was a soph and told me “you gotta check out my big sophomore.” Good call Coach Dexter. Tommy plays select hoops with Brockman and they practice against each other plenty. It has made him much better. Plus he’s a football guy so he has that competitive toughness that carries over from the gridiron to the court. Tommy is going to fall in love with the weight room, eat alot of good stuff, tack on 30-40 pounds and be a monster.
Best guy in the class without major hype is Chris Chase, 6-4 SG, Shorecrest. Smooth as silk with a great shot. And Chris can create his shot. He’s long, lean and quick. Just a very nice package.
And then there’s guys like Richie Phillips, Garrison Carr, Jake Linton, Brandon Moore and on and on. 2005 is a very solid class and it was hard to pick my top-10.
Remember it is just my opinion and we all know about those things…. I have things that I like to see; others have things they like to see. For my likes and dislikes, this is how I would recruit them. Also keep in mind that unlike the great majority of D-1 coaches, I don’t care about the size of the dog in the fight. I have always leaned more towards the size of the fight in the dog. Wasn’t the national player of the year this year kind of on the small side? And didn’t Maryland win it all a few years ago with a kid too skinny for everybody else leading the way?
