Mike Taylor

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard led Brooklyn Boys & Girls to its first New York PSAL championship ever in the spring of 2010, and then signed a National Letter of Intent to Rutgers that September, joining a blockbuster recruiting class for head coach Mike Rice.

Then the bottom began to fall out.

“I just stopped working,” he told SNY.tv by phone Tuesday. “I thought I didn’t have to to do school work and stuff like that.”

BALANCE OF POWER HAS SHIFTED TO JUCOS

Like many of his peers, Taylor thought a year of prep school could solve his problems.

He considered Newark NIA Prep and Humble (Texas) Christian Life Center, where former NBA player Rafer Alston is the coach.

But neither of those options would’ve helped him become college eligible, so after earning his GED, Taylor now finds himself on the campus of Midland (Texas) College.

“It was a last-minute thing [where] I had to go to junior college,” Taylor said. “The person who was handling my stuff, [AAU coach] Paul Ruddock, he told me. I was going to go to prep school but they told me I couldn’t because you can only take one class [in prep school].”

Midland features one of the premier junior college basketball programs in the nation, but it’s a long way from Brooklyn.

“Right now I’m just looking at a lot of dirt,” Taylor said by phone from his dorm room. “A lot of campus, a lot of dorms. Nothing’s really open at night. When we’re hungry late-night, there’s only one place [to eat], ‘Whataburger.’ We’ll go there and always just order pizza, chilling in the lobby.”

Taylor is part of an increasing number of former high school and prep players who must attend junior college instead of prep school because of the NCAA’s 2007 rules on what exactly can be accomplished at prep school.

Fifth-year seniors are only permitted to attend prep school for one year, to make up one core class. The NCAA also has blacklisted 64 non-eligible prep schools, schools listed on the NCAA Website whose credits are not accepted by NCAA institutions, according to a story in Odessa America Online.

As a result, the Midland team now also features former Lincoln High standout Darwin “Buddha” Ellis, a onetime St. Francis (N.Y.) commit.

Drimir Ferugson of Wings Academy and Tauron Bailey of Satellite Academy — both in New York — are at Monroe College in The Bronx. Former Manhattan signee Edson Avila of Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson is on the roster at Seward (KS) Community College. Former Duquesne player Joel “Air Jamaica” Wright, also of Thomas Jefferson, is now at Blinn (Texas) College, as is his former Jefferson teammate Shamel Williams. Christian Gayot, who played at Cardozo High in Queens, is at Missouri State University-West Plains. Dwayne Brunson, also from Cardozo, is at Barton County (KS). Jordan Aaron and Deonte Houston of The Bronx are both at Southeastern Iowa. Trivante Bloodman of New York’s Wadleigh is at Olney (IL) Central. And Dashawn Wiggins, formerly of Wings and Bridgton Academy (Maine) is at Eastern Utah, which also produced current Iona star Mike Glover. 

“The prep schools are not as strong as they were because you can’t get as much done in a one-year setting,” Whit Lesure, the longtime coach at Bridgton Academy, a prestigious prep school, told SNY.tv. “Regardless of the school, whether it’s a legitimate prep school or not, you can’t do as much.

“Anyone looking at the landscape would say that in basketball terms, the balance of power has shifted back to the JUCOs, whereas 10 years ago the balance of power had shifted to the preps and the JUCOs were hurting a bit.”

PREP SCHOOL NO LONGER AN OPTION FOR MANY

For many years, prep school seemed like the hip, cool option for many high school players who needed to pick up their grade point average, or gain greater exposure on a bigger stage.

Reputable New England prep schools like Bridgton, Brewster (N.H.) Academy, South Kent (Conn.) and St. Thomas More (Conn.) excelled as more and more top high school players went the prep route.

Four-year basketball powerhouses like Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and Findlay Prep (Nev.) — – which don’t accept fifth-year players – also regularly sit atop the national rankings.

“If you’re a good high school player anywhere in New England, it seems to me by looking at the newspaper there’s a chance you’re considering private school,” Lesure said.

“It’s happened in Maine. It’s all over Connecticut and it’s all over Massachusetts and I’m sure it makes public school coaches uncomfortable.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino says responsibility falls on the kids themselves — like Taylor and the others — for failing to take high school seriously.

“Kids should stop looking for easy way outs,” Pitino told SNY.tv. “By choosing prep schools as a way to defer what they should be doing as freshmen and sophomores in high school, and paying attention as freshmen and sophomore in high schools and getting their grades.

“They’re all running to prep schools figuring, ‘Oh, they gotta get away from all the distractions.’ They should take care of that as freshmen and sophomores and they wouldn’t all be running away from home.”

Still, South Kent (Conn.) coach Kelvin Jefferson, a former college coach, said many people are still unaware of the 2007 NCAA changes and are laboring under false impressions about what exactly prep schools can accomplish.

“These kids need to get the correct information,” said Jefferson, who coaches Providence commit Ricky Ledo, among others.

“I think a lot of kids and even some adults still believe that kids can come to prep school and take five classes and get five cores and change their transcripts, and that’s not the case anymore.

“After you graduate from high school, unless you have a documented learning disorder, you can only get one core course. If you do have a documented learning disorder, you can add three.

“That’s why there’s so many kids even nowadays that are saying, ‘I’m reclassifying to this class and that class.’ You have to graduate in four years. I think it’s ignorance that a lot of people just don’t understand the rules and they put themselves in bad situations.

“For us I would never take a kid that I don’t believe has a chance to qualify.”

FIVE-YEAR PREP SOLUTION WOULD BE BEST

Even though the NCAA has cracked down on certain questionable prep schools, Lesure believes their approach is uneven and fails to address the real problems.

“They either don’t have the manpower or they don’t have the interest,” said Lesure, whose current roster includes St. John’s commits Amir Garrett and Darrick Wood and former Hofstra pledge Malik Nichols. “They don’t have [what it takes] to consistently enforce something that makes sense.”

His solution?

“Every kid should get a full five years,” he said. “All kids go to private school for five years. Kids get hurt during school. Kids have one bad year in high school.

“The NCAA should say you have a year window to complete your stuff and gain your eligibility. And if you want to put some distributions in there — like you have to take so many math classes — fine but by this whole four years and eight semesters and one more as a postgrad and three more if you’re ‘LD,’ they [messed] it up big time.”

He added: “They really could’ve done something better that really reflects what goes on in education, and would be easier to monitor.

“And then you go look at the places and say is this place a school or not? Make it clear, make it reasonable and make it enforceable.”

Lesure said his other solution would be to let colleges take whomever they want and let the leagues deal with any academic index issues, like the Ivy league.

“Thus, the NCAA empowers member institutions to be the responsible ones,” Lesure said.

JUCOS BENEFITTING FOR NOW

Some student-athletes, like former St. John’s signee JaKarr Sampson, have opted to return for a postgraduate, or second, year at prep school.

After the NCAA ruled him and two other St. John’s frosh ineligible, the 6-8 Sampson is back at Brewster Academy for a second season, as is his teammate Mitch McGary, one of the most highly recruited big men in the Class of 2012.

“[Brewster coach] Jason [Smith] has gone to a few more two-year kids,” Lesure said. “That’s what happened in the prep school world. Since you can’t get as much done in one year then you’ll do it in more than one year.”

Yet others, like Taylor, were forced to go the JUCO route.

Brock Erickson, assistant coach at nationally ranked Monroe College, understands there can be a stigma associated with junior colleges, especially in the New York/New Jersey area.

But he believes two years at a junior college can prepare players like Taylor for the Division 1 ranks.

“I think junior college helps student-athletes because it prepared them to step in right away at the four-year level after two years, whereas many incoming [college] freshman go to NCAA schools unprepared, which has resulted in 40 percent of all college basketball players transferring by the end of their sophomore season,” Erickson wrote in an email. “Combine that with the number of coaching changes, especially in the NY/NJ area, and it is challenging to find players that have been at one institution and played for one coach for their four-year career.

“In today’s game, kids want instant gratification.  They want to play right away.  Competing for playing time against juniors and seniors that have been in a four-year school system is difficult.  In junior college, players can have an impact their first year while practicing and competing against Division 1 talent every day. Junior college teaches kids the responsibilities of what will be demanded of them when they go to a four-year institution.”

Taylor agrees.

“I think it’s better because you’re playing against better competition and against D-1 players,” he said.

Beginning this year, any player competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) must have a high school diploma or GED; grades and test scores are never an issue until the athlete comes to campus, according to the Odessa America Online. Once on campus, JUCO athletes only need to maintain a 2.0 GPA while carrying 12 credit hours per term.

In the old days, some athletes played junior college basketball without a high school degree. Most JUCO players graduated from high school and did not qualify because of low standardized test scores or not enough core classes.

Still, Alif Muhammad of NIA Prep cited former Seton Hall guard and NIA graduate Keon Lawrence, who failed to graduate from his regular high school before getting a degree from NIA, as an example of someone who benefitted by not going to junior college.

“Keon Lawrence…would never be able to matriculate at a JUCO,” Muhammad said in his press release. “But because of the support and resources of a Division I Seton Hall University and University of Missouri, he was able to obtain his College Degree.”

Midland coach Chris Craig, formerly Mike Glover’s coach at Eastern Utah, believes Taylor  can graduate from the school in two years and said, “He’s off to a good start.”

From where he sits, far away from Brooklyn and the bright lights of the Big East, Taylor understands the path he’s taken and says he’s accepted it and ready to do what it takes.

“I just gotta deal with it,” he said. “I’m not crazy about it. I got a new slate. I should be good.”

(Taylor photo courtesy Daily News)

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There had been reports that the 6-foot-8, 192-pound wing from Woodland Hills (Calif.) Taft would reclassify to 2010, but that is not the case.

“No, I’ll be Class of 2011,” Daniels said by phone from the Boost Mobile Elite 24 game in Venice Beach, Calif. “I was [considering it] for a little bit but I decided to stay in my class.”

Daniels, who recently decommitted from Texas, could go to college now if he wanted, though.

“I already graduated so I’m qualified now,” he said.

Daniels also plans to leave Taft before this season and spend a year at prep school. He’s considering Brewster (N.H.) Academy, South Kent (Conn.) and IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

“I want to be sure that I’m ready [for college] and get bigger and gain some weight and be a better basketball player,” he said.

Asked when he might decide on his next stop, he said, “In the next couple of days.”

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Joel ‘Air Jamaica’ Wright

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward had initially committed to Fordham while at Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson, but he and Fordham ultimately parted ways.

Wright is now at Central Jersey Each One Teach One (CJEOTO) after spending the first half of the year at Central Carolina Sports Academy, which he said has since shut down.

Wright said he picked Manhattan over interest from Providence, Pittsburgh, Baylor, Miami and Drexel. The story was first reported by Gotham Hoops Scouting.

“I picked them because it’s still a chance to be home,” Wright said. “[Coach Barry Rohrssen] is a cool dude. We had a relationship. I’m going to school where I can get exposure and my family can see me play. I want to be home so my mother [Diana Wilson] can see me play and enjoy my college career.”

Wright is due to take the SAT March 13, “but my academics are good,” he said

“He has a lot of quickness, he’s very athletic, he shoots the ball very well and he is understanding the game a lot better,” said CJEOTO coach Ian Turnbull.

NATIONAL PREP CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD SET

By Adam Finkelstein

The field has been announced for the fourth annual National Prep Championship, which will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 9^th & 10^th, at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.  The single elimination tournament features the top eight post-graduate programs in the country and will culminate with the crowning of an undisputed national champion.

The National Prep Championship has been in existence since 2007 and in just three years has already featured over 100 division I college basketball players and two current NBA players in Michael Beasley and Tyreke Evans. Beasley led Notre Dame Prep to the 2007 title in his hometown of Washington D.C., while current Mississippi State guard Dee Bost earned MVP honors in 2008 in leading Hargrave Military Academy over Findlay College Prep for the title.  The Tilton School made a Cinderella run to last year’s championship behind the duo of current UConn freshmen Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel.

This year, Hargrave Military Academy enters as the top seed with a 26-0 record.  Head coach Kevin Keatts’ squad will look to regain their title after falling in last year’s final.  While they will be led by future NC State guard Lorenzo Brown, this is an extraordinarily deep team who has already seen 10 of their 12 players commit to division I schools for next season including Dominique Ferguson (Florida International), Isaiah Epps (Pittsburgh), Shawn Kemp (Alabama), and Mardracus Wade (Arkansas).

Hargrave will face Tilton in a rematch of last year’s final in the opening round.  The Rams will be led by Providence bound swingman Gerard Coleman, but have plenty of other weapons including junior big man Ryan Canty and sophomore forward George Niang.

Second seeded Brewster Academy features top ten ranked Will Barton (Memphis) along with C.J. Fair (Syracuse), Melvin Ejim (Iowa State), Austin Carroll (Rutgers), and Richard Peters (Oklahoma), in addition to unsigned players like Mo Walker, Ashton Khan, and junior point guard Naadir Tharpe. Brewster will face seventh seeded Westwind Prep from Arizona in the opening round, who build their attack around Tony Snell (New Mexico), Freddy Wilson (Seattle), and unsigned seniors Brandon Tuggle, Bo Barnes, and Ted Wang.

Two traditional New England powerhouses will clash in a match-up of the third and sixth seeds as Winchendon battles St. Thomas More.  Winchendon has six players already committed to division I programs including Villanova bound big man Markus Kennedy and Connecticut native Anthony Ireland who will be playing in his home state for the final time before moving to Loyola Marymount in California while St. Thomas More features a slew of unsigned seniors including Bryon Allen, Tre Bowman, and Matt Conway in addition to Quinnipiac bound Dominique Langston.  This game also features a match-up of two of the top post prospects in 2012 with St. Thomas More’s Andre Drummond and Winchendon’s Khem Birch.

Notre Dame Prep and Northfield Mount Hermon will meet in the 4-5 game.  Notre Dame features their Big East bound frontline of Cleveland Melvin (UConn) and Ron Giplaye (Providence) in addition to a deep and talented backcourt of Antonio Barton (Memphis), Lamount Samuell Jr., and Jordair Jett. Meanwhile NMH will counter with high-major target Majok Majok in the middle surrounded by a sharp-shooting perimeter of Hector Harold (Pepperdine), Laurent Rivard (Harvard), and Aaron Cosby.

Quarterfinal action will begin on Tuesday at 2pm as Hargrave faces Tilton followed by Notre Dame and Northfield Mount Hermon at 4pm.  Brewster and Westwind will take the court at 6pm while Winchendon and St. Thomas More will offer the nightcap at 8pm.  Semifinal action will take place on Wednesday at 11am and 1pm with the final tipping off later that night at 7:30pm.

QUARTERFINALS
(1) Hargrave vs. (8) Tilton

(2) Brewster vs. (7) Westwind Prep

(3) Winchendon vs. (6) St. Thomas More

(4) Notre Dame Prep vs. (5) Northfield Mount Hermon

BOYS & GIRLS, CARDOZO ADVANCE TO PSAL TITLE GAME

Mike Taylor dropped 30 points to lead Boys & Girls to a 76-52 rout of Wings in the PSAL semifinals at St. John’s.

Boys will face Cardozo in Saturday’s final at MSG after Dwayne Brunson scored 14 points in a 62-53 come-from-behind win over Transit Tech.

(Photo courtesy Northstar Basketball)

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

The voting could not have been closer in the latest installment of the National Prep Poll as the #1 team in the country was decided by one vote and three different teams came up exactly even in the voting for the fourth spot.

#1 Patterson School – Lenoir, North Carolina,

Overall Record 27-2, 48 Points, 3 First Place Votes

#2 Hargrave Military Academy – Chatham, Virginia

Overall Record 19-1, 47 Points, 2 First Place Votes

#3 Notre Dame Prep – Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Overall Record 22-4, 40 Points

#4 (Tied) Brewster Academy – Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

Overall Record 17-7, 29 points

#4 (Tied) Bridgton Academy – North Bridgton, Maine

Overall Record 16-5, 29 points

#4 (Tied) South Kent School – South Kent, Connecticut

Overall Record 17-5, 29 points

#7 Winchendon School – Winchendon, Massachusetts

Overall Record 16-7, 21 points

#8 Tilton School – Tilton, New Hampshire

Overall Record 16-2, 12 points

#9 Charis Prep – Wilson, North Carolina

Overall Record 31-3, 10 points

#10 Northfield Mount Hermon – Northfield, Massachusetts

Overall Record 16-6, 3 points

Others Receiving Votes: Blair Academy (2); New Hampton School (2); St. Thomas More School (2); Fork Union Military Academy (1)

* The top 8 teams in the final poll of the year will advance to the National Prep Championship to be held on Monday, March 9th and Tuesday, March 10th at Endicott College in Beverly, MA

** Listed records are as of the time voting began in the middle of last week.  Wednesday and weekend games were not considered in this poll.

The new year brings an updated edition of the National Prep Poll…and the nation has a new top ranked team.

#1 Patterson School – Lenoir, North Carolina, 20-0, 50 points, Five 1^st place votes

Chris Chaney’s squad earned all five first place votes after knocking off Hargrave 79-76 in an early December match-up. Patterson has fire power at all five positions with the likes of Rashanti Harris, Clarence Trent, and Arsalan Kazemi on their frontline and DeAndre Kane and Hunter McClintock in the backcourt.

#2 Hargrave Military Academy – Chatham, Virginia, 12-1, 45 Points

Previously unbeaten and top ranked Hargrave Military Academy slips to the second spot. Despite their loss to Patterson they already have a handful of quality wins against Winchendon, Bridgton, New Hampton, and Fork Union. And you can bet Kevin Keatts n’company are hoping for a rematch with Patterson in the national championship game.

#3 Notre Dame Prep – Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 14-2, 40 Points

Notre Dame is one of the hottest teams in the country right now having won seven straight and not lost a game since November. Johnnie Lacey and James Southerland have led the charge for Ryan Hurd’s club as they’ve recently knocked off Brewster (twice), South Kent, St. Thomas More, Lee Academy, Massanutten, South Kent, and IMG.

#4 Bridgton Academy – North Bridgton, Maine, 11-2, 31 Points

Despite falling to Hargrave on a buzzer beater, Whit Lesure’s club used the National Prep Showcase as a way to make a statement to the rest of the country…they’re back and once again one of the nation’s best. Their only other loss came in a trip to Fork Union but they have impressive wins over Winchendon, New Hampton, and Lee Academy.

#5 Northfield Mount Hermon School – Northfield, Massachusetts, 9-1, 30 Points

Their only loss of the season came to St. Mark’s without head coach John Carroll as he was sidelined with pheumonia. They earned retribution by claiming victory in the rematch last week behind another big performance from Mike Marra. Other quality wins include a 30 point pounding of Fork Union and road wins at Blair and St. Thomas More.

#6 South Kent School – South Kent, Connecticut, 7-2, 25 Points

First year head coach Kelvin Jefferson is making his presence felt in a hurry as his team is competing hard on both ends. South Kent already has wins over Apex, MCI, Stoneridge, and St. Thomas More and their only losses came to top ranked Patterson and #3 Notre Dame by three.

#7 Tilton School – Tilton, New Hampshire, 10-0, 21 Points

Class B’s premier team hammered MCI, got a second class A win over Exeter, and then knocked off Marianapolis with Oriakhi out of action. Match-ups with Winchendon, Brewster, South Kent, St. Thomas More and New Hampton loom in the new year, but Oriakhi, Jamal Coombs, and Gerard Coleman might just be up to the task.

#8 Winchendon School – Winchendon, Massachusetts, 6-4, 13 Points

Losses to Lee Academy on opening night and most recently to Marianapolis Prep have been small set backs, but Mike Byrnes’ teams always peek at the right time and you can bet he’ll have a group featuring Jordan Henriquez, Sampson Carter, Eric Ferguson, and Yves Jules ready to be contenders come the first weekend in March.

#9 Fork Union Military Academy – Fork Union, Virginia, 6-3, 8 Points

Fletcher Arritt’s squad has been the story of the season thus far as they’ve scored victories over Brewster and Bridgton. You gotta love watching this team of over-achievers as they fight with everything they have and put out a production that exceeds the sum of their parts.

#10 Brewster Academy – Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, 7-5, 6 Points

The nation’s 2nd ranked pre-season team is off to a slow start by their standards, but they’ve got too much talent and pride to let anyone take their NEPSAC crowns without a fight. With the likes of Thomas Robinson, Andrew Fitzgerald, Givon Crump, and Naadir Tharpe on board, Jason Smith will have them running on all cylinders come March.

Others Receiving Votes: St. Mark’s School, 4 points; Blair Academy, 2 points

Dropped Out: Stoneridge Prep, 7^th Place Pre-Season Poll; St. Mark’s School, 8^th Place Pre-Season Poll; St. Thomas More, 9^th Place Pre-Season Poll; New Hampton School, 10^th Place Pre-Season Poll

The top three teams in the country are unanimous according to the five voting members of the National Prep Poll as Hargrave Military Academy, Brewster Academy, and Patterson School appear to be ahead of the field. But that’s where the consensus ends as each team has plenty to prove going into the season.

#1 Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Virginia), 48 points, 3 first place votes

The defending national champions retain the top spot to begin the season. Kevin Keatts’ squad is deep and talented. The perimeter has plenty of scorers led by Indiana bound guard Maurice Creek and future UMass Minuteman Freddie Riley. The frontline is versatile and athletic with one time Georgetown commit Chris Braswell now headed to Charlotte, Florida signee Deshawn Painter, and George Mason bound forward Luke Hancock. If everything holds to form, Hargrave could be cutting down their second set of nets in the last two years.

#2 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire), 44 points, 2 first place votes

Jason Smith’s squad won the NEPSAC title last year and is considered by many to once again be the league’s pre-season favorite going into this season. With the interior tandem of Andrew Fitzgerald and Thomas Robinson, Brewster will be a force inside. If they can get consistent production from their backcourt, they could very well be cutting down two sets of nets in March.

#3 Patterson School (Lenoir, North Carolina), 43 points

Each and every year Chris Chaney produces one of the top post-graduate programs in the country. This year is no different as Patterson has fire power at virtually every position. Few programs will be able to match their depth on the frontline as Washington bound forward Clarence Trent and future Rice forward Arsalan Kazemi are joined by 6’8” Rashanti Harris (Georgia State), 6’11” Hassan Whiteside (Marshall), and 7’1” junior David Nyarsuk.

#4 Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Massachusetts), 31 points

Ryan Hurd begins his second year at the helm of the program that Bill Barton built. Barton and Michael Beasley rode off into the sunset after Notre Dame won the first official National Championship in 2007. Last year Hurd guided the team to the semi-finals of the national tournament. This year he has reloaded with a contingent of tough perimeter players including Johnnie Lacey, Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati), Antoine Allen (Providence), and James Southerland (Syracuse).

#5 Bridgton Academy (North Bridgton, Maine), 25 points

Last year was the first season since 2004 that Bridgton Academy did not come away with the NEPSAC crown. Whit Lesure’s squad also advanced to the finals of the 2007 National Prep Championship. This year they are looking to return to their winning ways as they have added a talented cast including Malik Stith , Carl Blair (New Orleans), Duane Smith (George Washington), Chad July (High Point), Kauri Black, and Jamal Crook

#6 South Kent School (South Kent, Connecticut), 22 points

Longtime division I assistant coach Kelvin Jefferson has taken over the South Kent program after former head coach Raphael Chillious accepted a job with Nike. But not much else has changed in South Kent as the Cardinals again have one of the most talented teams in the country. With Omari Lawrence (St. John’s), Kevin Parrom (Xaver), Lisandro Ruiz-Moreno (Miami), and many others in the mix, Jefferson should have all the pieces to make a run in the NEPSAC this year.

#7 Winchendon School (Winchendon, Massachusetts), 15 points

The Winchendon School advanced all the way to the NEPSAC finals last year and gave Brewster Academy all they could handle before eventually falling in overtime. This year, Mike Byrnes’ squad has noticeably more talent than a season before, beginning with Kansas State bound big man Jordan Henriquez. Yves Jules is likely to put up big numbers in the backcourt before heading to Hofstra next year, while Sampson Carter and Eric Ferguson will be productive on the wings.

#8 Stoneridge Prep (Simi Valley, California), 11 points

Babacar Sy’s team is the big question mark going into this season. On paper they have one of the most talented groups in the country. But with all but one of their players coming from over seas, they’ll have to prove it on the hardwood if they hope to be considered among the nation’s elite. 6’3” guard Mohamed Koita, 7’2” center Youssoupha Mbao, and 6’8” Banjda Sy are all being recruited at the highest levels at the moment.

#9 St. Mark’s School (Southborough, Massachusetts), 8 points

St. Mark’s returns virtually everyone from last season’s team that plowed their way through their schedule en route to a NEPSAC Class C Championship. Erik Murphy (Florida) and Nate Lubick (Georgetown) form as imposing of a 1-2 interior punch as there is in the country, but by virtue of their conference affiliation St. Mark’s won’t play as challenging of a schedule as the rest of the team’s on this list. Consequently, they’ll have to take advantage of their opportunities to impress the voters. The first comes this weekend as they face Findlay College Prep.

#10 St. Thomas More School (Oakdale, CT), 7 points

On paper, St. Thomas More may not have the same level of talent as some of the other teams earning spots in the poll. But never underestimate Jere Quinn’s ability to coach up a group of hard-working and skilled overachievers. Led by bruising big man Dan Jennings (West Virginia) and scoring wing (Anell Alexis), STM could very well surprise some people this year.

Others Receiving Votes – New Hampton School, 6 points; Tilton School, 6 points; Northfield Mount Hermon, 5 points; Worcester Academy, 4 points.