The NEW top 10 Rankings are here. Enjoy…

2012-2013 Top 10 PG(Prep) Basketball Poll:

1. Massanutten Military Academy (VA)

2. St. Thomas More (CT)

3. New Hampton School (NH)

4. Brewster Academy (NH)

5. Hargrave Military Academy (VA)

6. Fishburne Military School (VA)

7. Northfield Mt. Hermon (MA)

8. Kiski School (PA)

9. South Kent (CT)

10. Gray Military Academy (SC)

By Ryan Stone    -    Twitter: @ryanvcu

Hargrave fell behind early in the second half, but were able to rally by scoring 61 points in the last 17 minutes to get an impressive win over Fishburne 106-82 on Friday night.

Hargrave was led by Louisville commit Terry Rozier with 41 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists; he led the team in all three categories.

Hargrave head coach A.W. Hamilton was very impressed with the performance by his point guard.

“He played with so much heart, he was a leader, he was vocal on defense and he played the whole 40 minutes, it was a breathtaking performance,” said Hamilton.

Hargrave led at the half 45-44, but Fishburne got off to quick start in the second half and jumped out to a 50-45 lead with about 17 minutes remaining, after that Hargrave was able to speed up the pace and get control of the game.

A telling stat that shows Hargrave’s quick tempo may have made Fishburne tired is that they hit no threes in the second half after hitting six in the first half. Three pointers was another category that Hargrave had the edge in making 14 of them.

Shannon Evans was another player that turned in a tremendous performance for Hargrave. He scored 23 points including five three pointers, but the stat you won’t see is the great defense he played.

Evans the 6’1 Buffalo commit drew the assignment of guarding 6’9 Memphis commit Kuran Iverson. Iverson did lead Fishburne with 24 points, but Evans did a great job pressuring Iverson and making it tough on him to score.

Coach A.W. Hamilton was very pleased with Evans defense.

“We decided to go small and challenged Shannon to guard and get under Kuran Iverson,” said Hamilton, “He did that and really made him work for everything he got and we’re really proud of his defense tonight.”

Zach Lewis the Canisius commit also had a good performance for Fishburne with 17 points. Greg McClinton scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Hargrave and also for his ninth straight double-double.

The win improves Hargrave’s record to 13-4 and the loss drops Fishburne to 9-3 on the season. The teams meet again at Fishburne on February 6.

The Miller School out of Charlottesville, Virginia has a lot of talent. However, Coach Scott Willard has one athlete on his team that really stands out…

6’9 Forward Isaac Copeland is one of the most talented players in the class of 2014. When I asked him why he left Ravenscroft High School in his hometown Raleigh, he said, “Miller is a great fit for me, and I felt that the strength of their schedule would help me improve my game”. The skillful wing was originally in the class of 2013, but has reclassified.  “I did not want to graduate at 17 and I lost a year due to a knee injury, so I felt that reclassifying was the right move for me”, says Copeland.

The injury has not set him back and it shows when you watch him play. Copeland is a long, athletic wing, who guards multiple positions, and goes after every rebound aggressively.  Using his size, the junior creates mismatches on the wing with his ability to score off the dribble and the range on his perimeter shot.  Defenders have to be on their toes because if you give him any room, he will not hesitate to put anyone on a poster.

Isaac has been receiving interest from schools for a while now.  His list contains schools such as Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Georgetown, FSU, Miami U, WVU, Alabama, and many more. With a total of 25 offers and counting, Copeland will have a tough task narrowing his list down.  The best thing about the young man is that he is a humble kid and is an unselfish player on the court.  Look for this Raleigh native to have a very bright future on and off of the basketball court.

Isaac Copeland Quick Facts:

-Ht: 6’9

-Wt: 190

-GPA: 4.0 last quarter

-Great 3 point shot and loves to finish above the rim

-Scores in a variety of ways

-25 Offers:Georgetown, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, Virginia, Boston College, & more.

The NEW top 10 Rankings are here for the elite prep school basketball programs . Some of the best talent are in these schools and the majority of the players go on to play Division 1. The coaching staffs of these teams have to be masters in recruiting to keep a roster full of talent year after year.

The teams on our list for this season are all very talented. We took many things into consideration and have discussed these rankings with numerous scouts, sportswriters, and coaches to come up with the best Top 10 ranking as possible. RecruitDirt has gotten together a committee of coaches across the country that will have input on our rankings which will be updated weekly.

2012-2013 Top 10 PG(Prep) Basketball Poll:

1. Massanutten Military Academy (VA) 9-0

2. St. Thomas More (CT) 3-0

3. Kiski School (PA) 6-0

4. New Hampton School (NH) 3-0

5. Brewster Academy (NH) 3-1

6. Fishburne Military School (VA) 7-1

7. Hargrave Military Academy (VA) 9-3

8. Northfield Mt. Hermon (MA) 1-1

9. South Kent (CT) 2-1

10. Wilbraham & Monson (MA) 2-0

Hargrave Military Academy now officially boasts one of the most regarded backcourts in recent memory…

Coming into the season, everyone knew of Anton Gill, Hargrave’s five-star shooting guard, who is ranked 5^th best at his position in the entire country.  A lot of people also knew about Terry Rozier, but Rozier wasn’t as highly regarded as some of the other guards to enter Hargrave’s prestigious program.  Terry Rozier, once considered a bottom top 100 player, is now ranked as a five-star recruit and the third best point guard in the country.  Rozier, who already has a 50 point game under his belt already this season, credits the Hargrave basketball program as one of the main reasons for his development in the past few months.  “You have to bring it every day at Hargrave, if you don’t then you are going to get embarrassed in practice.  We have a team of 10+ Division I players, so practice is intense and competitive every day.” Rozier also credits the strength and conditioning program for helping him gain 15 lbs. of muscle, as well as Coach A.W. Hamilton for helping him improve his point guard play. “I definitely feel like I am more of a pure point guard now.  I don’t turn the ball over as much and Coach Hamilton has helped me understand the position more.  I feel like now I understand the responsibilities and the type of leadership I need to have to be successful at the next level.”

Coach Hamilton speaks very highly of Terry as a player but even more so as a student athlete.  “I’m very excited about Terry’s progress he’s made as a player but I’m even more excited about what Terry’s done in the classroom, he’s holding a GPA over 3.o for the year.” Coach A.W. Hamilton

Recruitdirt has had many people reachout to us as of late and we are very appreciative of the support.  Our new Arizona Insider has developed a list of the top 15 basketball players in the Grand Canyon state. Enjoy! For daily news on High School athletes follow us on Twitter @Recruitdirt.

The 2012 Holiday Inn Express Tip-Off Challenge was held by Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia, from November 8-10.  This event turned out to be great as there were many close games and plenty of talent to watch over the 3 day period…

The teams that competed in this event were; Fishburne Military School (VA), Massanutten Military Academy (VA), The Miller School (VA), Southern Tech Prep (NC), Rise Academy (PA), and Richard Bland Community College (VA). Fishburne Military School and Massanutten were the clear juggernauts in this event and both ended up 3-0.  I look forward to seeing how all of these teams progress and the matchup between them in the ladder part of the season.  Here is a brief synopsis of each team from the Tip-Off Challenge.

Fishburne Military School (3-0) / MOP: Kuran Iverson (2013)

Fishburne looked very good in this tournament winning all three of their games.  They defeated Richard Bland CC, Rise Academy, and Southern Tech.  They eased through the first two games gaining the early lead and never looking back.  However, Southern Tech did not give up after being down at the half 33-19. The Wildcats came out on a 20-4 run on the Caissons, but in the end, Coach Ed Huckaby got his team in order and they got the 64-58 win to finish the 3 day event with no losses.

With this high powered offense and depth at every position, look for Fishburne to be a tough match up for any team that they play against this season.  Their team consists of 8 Division 1 commits already and they still have more players that will sign Division 1 in the late period.  This offense is led by Kuran Iverson, the 6’9 Guard who can do it all. Iverson makes offense look easily, creating mismatches with his size and length, he is incredibly tough to defend. The wing can score from anywhere on the court and plays very unselfish which makes him that much better.  Although he didn’t score it much, Chase Cormier is the guy that gets this team rolling.  The Grambling commit runs the show and keeps their offense running smooth and under control.  Daniel Dixon came off of the bench and showed what he does best, which is spotting up and hitting the three point shot.  Dixon hit 8 threes during the event and showed that he is not shy when it comes to shooting the ball.  Overall, Fishburne looked really tough to beat, simply because even when they sub, they don’t lose much.  If  they can maintain an up-tempo style of play for 40 minutes in their games, lookout for them to make a run at the National Prep Championship at the end of the season.

Other Notable Players: F-Alassane Kah (WKU), F-Walter Foster (Towson), F-Barnett Harris (Delaware), F-Magnus Richards (Binghamton), G- Zach Lewis , & G/F- Zak Krikbride.

Massanutten Military Academy (3-0) / MOP- Deandre Burnett (2013)

Massanutten looked impressive in this Holiday Inn Express Tip-Off Challenge going 3-0 as well.  Coach Chad Myers has his team looking good and they are a force to be reckoned with.  The Colonels defeated Southern Tech, Richard Bland CC, and The Miller School.  Myers team showed that they don’t give up easily.  They got down 43-38 at the half against The Miller School, but the final score ended up 97-71 in the Colonels favor. Southern Tech battled against them the entire game, but Massanutten pulled away at the end with the 91-83 win.

Massanutten also has a deep team, but led by the outstanding duo at the guard position in Frank Mason (Kansas) and Deandre Burnett (Miami U).  These two are tough players who are hard to defend and have some of the best chemistry that I have seen between two teammates.  Burnett had a big-time offensive weekend scoring 44, 13, & 40 in the three games.  Of these games, the shooting guard hit 16 three pointers and was getting to the foul line at will.  If he continues to play at this level, he will be one of the toughest players to guard around.  Mason was getting into the paint and finding his open teammates, which is what he is best at. Wing Ahmad Fields, had a steady 3 days, averaging 10.3 points over the period.  His length and athleticism makes him a great defensive presence and he attacks the basket on offense consistently and with aggressiveness.  Damonte Dodd (Maryland) did not play his best ball over these 3 days, but look for him to turn up the intensity and improve as the season progresses.

Other Notable Players: F-Rashard Kelly, F- Garland Owens (Boston College), F- Dwayne Foreman, G- QJ Peterson (VMI), & G- Amin Abuhawwas.

The Miller School (2-1) / MOP- Isaac Copeland (2014)

The Miller School was the youngest of the six teams in the event.  Going into this event, I was not sure how they would play against the older and more physical competition.  After watching them play, I was very impressed with the toughness that they played with.  Coach Willard’s Mavericks went 2-1, winning against Rise Academy and Southern Tech.  Their only loss was to Massanutten Military, but they did have a 43-38 lead at the half.  However, the second half was all Massanutten and they lost 97-71.

Miller School had the tallest average height of any of the starting lineups with their starting 5 guys at 6’3, 6’3, 6’9, 6’9, & 6’10.  They used this to their advantage and grabbed a lot of rebounds on both ends which helped them a great deal.  The thing I loved about this team is the way that they shared the ball, the teammates all have confidence in one another’s game and it shows.  Grayson Gunner is a perfect fit for this team; he can get to the basket and score, but is a pass first Point Guard that knows how to run his offense. The leading scorer for the team was 6’9 F Isaac Copeland, who can do it all.  Copeland guards multiple positions and goes after every rebound.  A lot like Kuran Iverson, Copeland creates mismatches on the wing with his height and range on his perimeter shot.  Not too far behind in the total points column was 6’3 SG Travis Hester.  This left handed shooting guard has a beautiful stroke.  Not only can he spot up and shoot, but he can penetrate well and has nice vision to make good passes to open teammates.  Scoring in double figures in every game, Hester showed his consistency on offense over the 3 day period.  The Center for Miller, Tony Washington, was a nice inside presence, grabbing a ton of rebounds.  At 6’10 and being able to jump how he does, he makes it look too easy on the boards.  Lookout for The Miller School to have a big time year and win a lot of games; they are one of the toughest teams in Virginia and played very well against Post-Graduate competition.

Other Notable Players: F- Aram Martin, G-Cameron Smith, G-Franklin Porter, & F- Guilherme Jenbiroba.

Richard Bland Community College (2-1) / MOP- Pedro Berrios (2013)

Richard Bland Community College went 1-2 in the event with losses to Fishburne and Massanutten Military.  Their lone win was against Rise Academy of Philadelphia.  After suffering from two brutal losses to two of the top post-graduate prep schools in the country, the Statesmen bounced back and played great against Rise on Day 3.

Coach Leon Gholson has a great leader on his team who is easy to notice. 6’3 Point Guard Pedro Berrios runs the show and it is easy to see why when you watch him play.  Berrios has a nice handle and can make a shot from anywhere on the court, whether it be a spot up jump shot, or a shot created off the dribble, there is a high percentage chance that the ball is going to go in.  Along with getting his fair share of assists, Berrios finished every game scoring in double figures. Guard Jhamel Johnson was a nice compliment to Berrios.  Johnson is a good rebounding guard and had his fair share of easy buckets.  TJ Daniels and Judah Morgan gave a much needed boost of offense off of the bench.  Daniels has a nice set shot and hit a three in every game of the event.  Morgan is a tough player who plays very hard and it shows when you watch him.  Crashing the boards on every shot, he is easily one of the best rebounders on his team.  This team needed to gain a little more chemistry, but by day 3 of this event, you could already see an increase in team cohesion.

Other Notable Players: G-Nicholas Booker, F- Derrick Savage, & G-Dante Bournes

Southern Tech Prep (0-3) / MOP- Avery Ugba (2013)

Southern Tech went 0-3 in the Tip-Off Challenge, but you cannot count them out of any game.  Their three losses came to Massanutten, Miller, and Fishburne.  However, Coach Tyreek Ramseur has one of the toughest teams around.  They may get down in a game, but they never give up.  A prime example of this was their final game against Fishburne.  The Wildcats were down 33-19 at halftime of this game.  To start the second half, they came out on a 20-4 run.  This gave them a two point lead after everyone in the gym, except for the Fishburne coaching staff, had counted them out.  Although they did not get the win, they made it a game and only lost 64-58.

Cullen Russo plays a big role on this team and he is always the center of attention on opposing team’s scouting reports.  The 6’9 wing creates mismatches usually, but he had to face two other 6’9 wings in this event in Fishburne’s Kuran Iverson, and Miller’s Isaac Copeland.  Russo played well, but you could see frustration on his face at certain times during the game.  The leading scorer for the Wildcats was not Russo, but the 6’7 Forward Avery Ugba.  Averaging 18 points a game, Ugba showed that he is a force in the paint.  Always in the perfect position for every board, the big guy is a consistent rebound and put back machine.  His effort on the boards and his high FG% is what got Ugba the MOP of his team.  Lajarvis “LJ” Johnson played very well at times for them at the Point.  Johnson has good vision and showed that he can pass it well when under defensive pressure.  To compliment Johnson’s ability to get in the paint and draw the defense was the shooting guard Anthony Lindauer. Lindauer has a beautiful shot.  With his perfect form, release, & ball rotation, it is easy to see how his shot goes in at such a high percentage from three point land.  The sharpshooting guard had 8 threes in three games and could have shot more, but he is a very unselfish player.  As I stated earlier, Southern Tech went 0-3 in Waynesboro, but don’t count them out, look for them to improve and get some big wins for Coach Ramseur.

Other Notable Players: G-Marquel Beasley, G-Jalen Byrd, G-Martin Campbell, & G-James Payne.

Rise Academy (0-3) / MOP: Shamir Harper

Rise Academy went 0-3 in the Tip-Off Challenge as well.  Their three losses were to The Miller School, Fishburne, and Richard Bland Community College.  Rise Academy did not have their entire team present during the three day event.  However, Coach Vin Sparacio had his two big time scorers present.

Kyle Kuzma is an impressive basketball player.  The 6’8 wing has grown over about a foot in the past two years.  He used to be smaller so he has always been a Point or Shooting guard and has been able to handle the ball very well.  Now that he is 6’8, his handles are better than most guys that size.  His shot is very good and he has nice range and a high release on the shot, which gives him an advantage against smaller defenders.  Shamir Harper is the other big time scorer for Rise.  Harper is a very athletic guard and was the leading scorer for Rise, averaging 15.3 points a game.  Bobby Conley is the leader of the team.  The PG understands how to set the tempo and run an efficient offense.  Conley had many assists and was also scoring double digits in every game that he played.  Shane Randall was their only big at the event.  Randall is an impressive rebounder at 6’6.  The Forward understands how to use his strong frame and get into position for the easy rebound.  It should be noted that Rise Academy did not have their full team present.  They played a 7 man rotation which was rough on the players.  They should be pretty good with their full roster and their starters can get some much needed rest throughout the game.

Other Notable Players: G-Daquan Jones, G-Greg Roberts, & G-Nelson Gonzalez.

I really enjoyed this event. Well organized, plenty of talent, and a great host team and coaching staff.  I look forward to covering the next event hosted at Fishburne, which will be the Best Western Plus Waynesboro Caisson Shootout from November 29-December 1, 2012. The event consists of Fishburne (VA), Kiski School(PA), Massanutten (VA),  Blue Ridge School (VA), Hargrave Military Academy (VA),           Miller School (VA), St.  Johns NW (WI), and Gray Military Academy (SC). This event contains some of the top prep schools in the country and will have a ton of talent in it.  Check out our website for the overview of the event and follow our twitter @recruitdirt for live game tweets.

RecruitDirt will update the National Prep Rankings after this weekends National Prep Tournament.

During our summer travels we came across a prep school deluxe guard from Massillon, Ohio.  The sleeper tag has been applied for the simple fact the fire hydrant thick guard we saw missed a bulk of his senior year due to injury.  Now at 100%, and feeling better then he ever has, the Washington High School grad will do a prep year at Rise Academy in Philly to play a national schedule and turn the looks he once had into offers.

Bobby Conley is a 6′/190lb lead guard with an unbelievable work ethic. Watching him workout it was easy to see how poised he was with his “never too high, never too low” attitude he carried.  The injury he sustained to his wrist forced him to see the game from a different perspective, and according to him was a blessing in disguise.  He has always been able to score, but his injury allowed him to see that there are easier buckets to get on the floor, and by setting teammates up, it will only create more opportunities for him.

After speaking with this young man, you can tell that he is hungrier then ever to prove himself on the floor, and earn what he believes will be a Division I career.

Bobby Conley Quick Facts:

* Ht: 6-0

* Wt: 190

* ACT score: 20

* Great passer & high basketball IQ

* Good ball handling and mid-range game.  Developing a floater.

* Recruitment has been skewed bc of injury, but he has been getting looks from DI- DIII schools.

* Full Qualifier.