KJ’s BB Newsletter              May 13, 2001

• LAST ISSUE
• CLONES REBUILDING
• DRAKE SHORTHANDED AGAIN
• HAWKEYES ON THE RISE
• JAYHAWKS RELOAD

LAST ISSUE THIS SEASON

Now that the spring recruiting period is over and my NBA teams have been eliminated, it’s time to hang up the newsletter for this season.  During the offseason, I’ll be working on the following sections of HoopsZone.net:

• Statistics for each season and player throughout history at KU, Iowa, ISU and Drake.  Actually, I already have all the data for KU, but I need to gather historical data for the other school’s basketball teams.  I’m hopeful that I can find some students who would be willing to help me collect historical basketball data and put it into tabular form.  Please let me know if you know of anyone who might be interested in collaborating with me in this regard.

• Links to other basketball sites of interest.  For each team, I hope to have links to school sites (official athletic department, school paper, etc.), local and national press sites (like Sporting News, CNNSI, etc.), and good sites compiled by fans.  I’d appreciate any suggestions from readers.

• Kentucky series.  I’ll finish my series of articles on “The Dark Side of Kentucky Basketball”.

• Surveys to determine the best all-time basketball teams at Drake, ISU, Iowa and Kansas. If you have any nominations, feel free to send me your list.

Before closing, though, I’d like to give you a brief preview of next season.

CLONES REBUILDING

The Cyclones will have a lot of holes to fill, having lost four senior starters (All-American Jamaal Tinsley, Paul Shirley, Martin Rancik, and Kantrail Horton), as well as senior forward Richard Evans and freshman Zach Fortune, who has left school.   These six represented 66% of ISU’s scoring last year, as well as 63% of it’s rebounding.

The 2002 Clones will be built around returning sophomores Shane Power (6’5 F) and Jake Sullivan (6’1 G) and 6’7 senior forward Tyray Pearson.  Omar Bynum, a 6’7 junior forward who only played 69 minutes this past season, will be given a strong shot at starting, as will redshirt center Andrew Skoglund, a 7’1 soph.  None of the other carryovers got more than 14 minutes of playing time last year.

Although the recruiting class is not highly rated, Eustachy has a nose for unearthed talent.  From the juco ranks, he’s bringing in 6’7 swing forward Tommie King.  Three freshman signees include: 6’0 Ricky Morgan, a point guard from Pontiac, MI;  6’9 PF Jared Homan from Remsen, IA; and 6’9 PF Adam Schaper from Wheatfield, IN.

DRAKE SHORTHANDED AGAIN

The Bulldogs also lost a lot of talent, with seniors Lamont Evans, Joey Gaw, Aaron Thomas, and Justin Ohl departing.  It would appear that Luke McDonald may transfer to Texas Tech and I’ve heard too that Dontaie Smith has transferred.  Those six represented over 60% of Drake’s scoring and about 50% of its rebounding last year.  Additionally, there are some questions as to whether Alberto Jempierre and Mike O’Neill will be back, after flunking last semester.

So Coach Kanaskie will build on the nucleus of returnees Greg Danielson (6’9 soph center), Andre Sola and Aaron Knight.  The only recruit signed by Kanaskie was Lonnie Randolph, a 6’1 PG from Merrillville, IN.  So, it looks like Kanaskie is going to be awfully shorthanded next year. 

I was very critical, you may recall, in a couple of my newsletters about Evans, Jempierre, O’Neill and Smith letting Drake University, the team and fans down by not making their grades.  In retrospect, I may have been too harsh as it has been reported since that Evans not only stayed in school, but is scheduled to graduate this summer and O’Neill has regained his eligibility.  Good work guys!

HAWKEYES ON THE RISE

Although the Hawks lose four-year starter Dean Oliver and sub Jason Smith, things look pretty rosy in Iowa City now that Reggie Evans and Luke Recker have decided to come back for their senior seasons.  They will be joined by returning senior forwards Duez Henderson and Rod Thompson, senior guard Ryan Hogan, and sophomore forwards Glen Worley and Cortney Scott, as well as soph guard Brody Boyd.  The Hawks return over 78% of it’s scoring from last season and over 91% of it’s rebounding.

Coach Alford has brought in one of the nation’s best recruiting classes, including two studs from Illinois, 6’3 point guard Pierre Pierce and 6’6 swingman Marcellus Sommerville, both of whom were nominated for the McDonald’s All-American game. And during the spring signing period, Alford also grabbed Chauncey Leslie, a 6’1 PG who helped Indian Hills CC to a fourth place finish in the National juco tourney.  The Hawkeyes also have a commitment from 6’11, 200-lb Erek Hansen from Euless, TX, who is likely to redshirt while trying to put on some pounds.

JAYHAWKS RELOAD

KU will have a big hole to fill left by departing senior Kenny Gregory, who led the team in scoring this past year.  Eric Chenowith and Luke Axtell both leave as well, after posting back-to-back disappointing seasons.  It’s doubtful that Mario Kinsey will join the team after football season.  Those four represented 34% of KU’s scoring and 38% of it’s rebounding last season.

Returning are juniors-to-be Drew Gooden, Kirk Hinrich, and Nick Collison, and fellow starter Jeff Boshee.  Jeff Carey, back for his senior season, will likely get some playing time, as will sophomore Bryant Nash.

Roy Williams landed  a stellar group of recruits, headed by Aaron Miles, a 6’1 point guard and 6’8 power forward Wayne Simien, both rated among the best in the country.  They’ll be joined by Keith Langford, a 6’5  SG/SF and Miles’ long-time friend,  Michael Lee, a 6’3 shooter.  Since junior high, Lee and Miles have played together on the basketball court as well as on the gridiron, where Lee was QB Miles’ favorite receiver.

Unfortunately, Williams didn’t land a quality center again this year.  I really can’t understand why, when it’s clear that he could virtually guarantee a starting role to any incoming postman.