Sidiki Johnson ’11, St. Raymond’s (NY), Long Island Lightning: Arizona, Kentucky, Providence, St. John’s, Pitt, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, UMass, and Hofstra (Johnson committed to Arizona the day after this interview was conducted)
                                     Offers: Arizona, Providence, St. John’s, UMass, and Hofstra
                                     Favorites: “No, I like them all.”
                                     Notes- Johnson, who could not remember all of the schools on his list, is not really considering UMass and Hofstra, as he wants to go to a high-major program. As what it’s like to have Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari coming to watch him, Sidiki stated, “It’s a pleasure to have a head coach come watch me play. . . . I went on a visit there. It was real nice [and the] . . . campus was wonderful.”

Mike Taylor ’11, Boys & Girls (NY), Sponge Tech Elite: Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John’s, Villanova, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Marquette, Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, and Pitt
                               Offers: Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John’s, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, and Pitt
                               Favorites: “No, no favorites right now. I’ll go to the school that I best fit in [at].”
                               Notes- When asked what he is looking for in a school, Taylor stated, “A good education, and just to fit in with the style of play . . . where I’m going to play at.” I inquired of Mike why he was not playing with his usual team, the Metro Hawks, and he informed me, “I didn’t know they were going to be in this.” What was it like playing against his normal squad? “It was fun. [The] . . . coach told them not to let me get to the basket. . . . It was a good experience.”

Myles Mack ’11, Paterson Catholic (NJ), Playaz: Syracuse, Fordham, DePaul, Virginia, Providence, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech, St. John’s, and Drexel
                                 Offers: Fordham, Virginia Tech, and St. John’s
                                 Favorites: None
                                 Note- Asked if he would prefer to go high-major or mid-major, Mack said, “I’m not sure yet. I’m still thinking about that.”

Maurice Harkless ’11, Forest Hills (NY), Sponge Tech Elite: West Virginia, UConn, Duquesne, Florida State, Villanova, and St. John’s
                                        Offers: West Virginia, UConn, Duquesne, Florida State, and St. John’s
                                        Favorites: None
                                        Note- Harkless informed me that there are some others on the list that he could not think of, and also told me the following when I asked if he thought he would end up in the Big East: “I’m not sure yet, but the Big East is looking kind of good right now, but you never know. I want to go [play in the] Big East or ACC.”

Derrick Randall ’11, Paterson Catholic (NJ), Playaz: Rutgers, St. John’s, Virginia Commonwealth, and Virginia Tech
                                    Offers: St. John’s
                                    Favorites: None
                                    Note- Randall has some other schools recruiting him that he could not think of.

Erik Copes ’11, Imhotep Charter (PA), Team Philly: George Washington, Temple, UConn, West Virginia, Niagara, and Wake Forest
                             Offers: George Washington and Temple
                             Favorite: “I’m going to [commit to] GW [in] . . . September [or maybe even] next week. [It will be] . . . soon, real soon.”
                             Note- Copes’ reason for why he wants to go to GW is that his “uncle works there, Coach Roland Houston.”

Keith Lumpkin ’11, St. Peter’s Prep (NJ), Playaz: Seton Hall, Rutgers, and Providence
                                     Offers: None
                                     Favorites: None
                                     Notes- Lumpkin is also a quality football prospect, but he was unsure of who was recruiting him in that sport. The big man is undecided on which sport he will play in college, but he said he won’t be playing both. Lumpkin currently “likes both of them the same” and asked when he will pick a sport, he stated, “Maybe senior year. I’m not really sure.”

Note- photo is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/