The Vanswers
CSTV.com Recruiting Expert and Generation Next's Van Coleman offers his opinions on five recruiting-related topics that dominate the talk of the week. In this week's case, Van takes a look back at today's stars and their days of high school.
What's the best recruiting class ever?
Michigan's Fab Five and Ohio State's Thad Five are the top two and it's funny that they both finished No. 2 nationally. Another similar front is they both moved on quickly, with Chris Webber leaving and then the other four following a year later, and Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook leaving now.
Duke's 1997 class was a good one with Shane Battier, Chris Burgess, Elton Brand and William Avery.
North Carolina had probably the best three-man class of the last two decades with Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis.
Duke's 1999 class was another good one with Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy leading the way to a national title in 2001.
One standout class that sticks out in my mind is DePaul's 1998 class. With Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Lance Williams and Antonio Latimer, NBA was dripping off that class. That was the one that was going to put DePaul basketball and the Pat Kennedy regime back on the map. Once Quentin left, the class never recovered. He was the glue and he and Simmons have gone on to have nice NBA careers while the others didn't and should have.
Who made first impressions on you that still hold up?
Alonzo Mourning (Georgetown) - No big I've ever watched has played that hard in every game he played in, whether it was a pick-up game or national title game. His matchup with Shawn Kemp at Nike Camp was one for the ages and Alonzo loved to snuff highlight-reel guys like Kemp.
Jason Kidd (California) - Nobody could dominate the game with the ball in his hands like him. He could pass, create and pick-pocket you every time. He just did the right things.
LeBron James - The second time I saw him he was a man among boys that destroyed anybody that got in front of him. By ABCD Camp his junior year, he was holding a press conference behind us while everyone else was out there playing for scholarships.
Kevin Garnett - Another second-timer. The first time I saw him was at the Beach Ball Classic where he put up about 40 points and was shooting it. He had to get stronger though, and when he put on 20 pounds he absolutely dominated the game. That second time I saw him he was doing all the same things, but was stronger and passing the way I hadn't seen from a big man since Danny Manning. I said to myself, `This is what the game's coming to and he's the prototype.'
Penny Hardaway (Memphis State) - A tremendous open court player. Right away I saw a little George Gervin, a little Magic Johnson, a little Dominque Wilkins. He made it look effortless, like he was dancing with the basketball.
Dennis Scott (Georgia Tech) - Had range beyond range. His rising sophomore and junior years he dominated the summer circuit so much that he took it off his rising senior year. When somebody does that now, they get the D-Scott Memorial Award.
Shaquille O'Neal (LSU) - The biggest second-look of all time. At the BCI in Phoenix, he was a 6-foot-7, 220-pound sophomore who looked like a mid-major power forward. Then he became 6-foot-11, 240-pound Shaquille O'Neal and we all said "look out." Nobody could touch him and he dominated the inside paint as much as any player in any era. He was right there with Mourning and they were both scratching the surface, then Shaq added three more inches and 75 pounds. I saw Wilt, Russell and Kareem, and he became the guy that rivaled them. However, had Wilt had the same training, I still think he would have been the best.
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