Best High School Basketball

[tomegun]

I would probably say the Washington DC area, to include Northern Virginia, Maryland and the district, has the best basketball. If I began to name some of the players who are from this area I'm sure I would miss someone, but to name a few from the last couple of years:

Ty Lawson - UNC
Marcus ???? - UNC
Scottie Reynolds - Villanova
??? Cunningham - Villanova
Kevin Durant - Texas
Jeff Green - Georgetown
Roy Hibbard - Georgetown

I lived there, but I'm not originally from the area so I don't know all the guys in the past. People like Grant Hill, Danny Ferry, Lawrence Moten, Brian Westbrook, the Forte kid who played at UNC and many others have been coming out of the area for years. The Washington Catholic league is one of the premier leagues in the country and had two teams in the top 20 earlier this year (I don't know if they are still in standings) - DeMatha and St. John's. It was always fun to do a high school game with 8 D1 kids on a small high school court at once. My last high school game in DC was Oak Hill versus Montrose Christian. All 5 starters on Oak Hill were from DC and Montrose had Oak Hill's top scorer from the previous season (Durant).

I have also seen the level of play in Arizona, Nevada and Mississippi.

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by tomegun

I would probably say the Washington DC area, to include Northern Virginia, Maryland and the district, has the best basketball. If I began to name some of the players who are from this area I'm sure I would miss someone, but to name a few from the last couple of years:

Ty Lawson - UNC
Marcus ???? - UNC
Scottie Reynolds - Villanova
??? Cunningham - Villanova
Kevin Durant - Texas
Jeff Green - Georgetown
Roy Hibbard - Georgetown

I lived there, but I'm not originally from the area so I don't know all the guys in the past. People like Grant Hill, Danny Ferry, Lawrence Moten, Brian Westbrook, the Forte kid who played at UNC and many others have been coming out of the area for years. The Washington Catholic league is one of the premier leagues in the country and had two teams in the top 20 earlier this year (I don't know if they are still in standings) - DeMatha and St. John's. It was always fun to do a high school game with 8 D1 kids on a small high school court at once. My last high school game in DC was Oak Hill versus Montrose Christian. All 5 starters on Oak Hill were from DC and Montrose had Oak Hill's top scorer from the previous season (Durant).

I have also seen the level of play in Arizona, Nevada and Mississippi.

You really can't count Oak Hill in that mix - they recruit players from all over the country. I lived in the Baltimore area for 3 years . . . the greater DC/B'more area is good, but NY is good, Philly is good, FL is good, TX is good and CA is good too - WV seniors play OH seniors every year and the record is about 50-50 over the past 10-12 years so I certainly wouldn't count OH as a bastian of basketball. Huntington HS here in WV is among the top teams this year but that's a oddity in WV.

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer

You really can't count Oak Hill in that mix - they recruit players from all over the country. I lived in the Baltimore area for 3 years . . . the greater DC/B'more area is good, but NY is good, Philly is good, FL is good, TX is good and CA is good too - WV seniors play OH seniors every year and the record is about 50-50 over the past 10-12 years so I certainly wouldn't count OH as a bastian of basketball. Huntington HS here in WV is among the top teams this year but that's a oddity in WV.

I agree with you and this is a hard question to answer. The only reason I mentioned Oak Hill is because of what you pointed out; they recruit from all over the country and during the 05-06 season all 5 starters were from the DC area. Their captain now is from the DC area - Nolan Smith - and will be at Duke next year.

Between DC and Baltimore, there may be 4 players that will make the McDonald's all American team.

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by tomegun

I agree with you and this is a hard question to answer. The only reason I mentioned Oak Hill is because of what you pointed out; they recruit from all over the country and during the 05-06 season all 5 starters were from the DC area. Their captain now is from the DC area - Nolan Smith - and will be at Duke next year.

Between DC and Baltimore, there may be 4 players that will make the McDonald's all American team.

I'm sure Oak Hill will finish #1 this year. I'd like to see Huntington play them. They beat DeMatha by 12 last week. OJ Mayo is incredible (could go NBA without the new rules) - with 3 other starters going D1 that's not a bad team either.

[Ref Daddy]

Possible Clue ... Top Boy's in 2006. Looks like Chesapeake and Ohio Valley areas win!

1) Greg Oden (7-0, 240, C) - Indianapolis, Indiana (Lawrence North HS)
2) Kevin Durant (6-9, 205, F) - Maryland (Montrose Christian)
3) Brandan Wright (6-9, 200, F) - Tennessee (Brentwood Academy)
4) Chase Budinger (6-7, 190, F) - Carlsbad, California (La Costa Canyon)
5) Wayne Ellington (6-4, 185, G) - Merion Station, Pennsylvania (Episcopal Academy)
6) Demond Carter (5-10, 165, PG) - Reserve Christian School (Reserve, LA)
7) Thaddeus Young (6-8, 205, F) - Memphis, Tennessee (Mitchell Road)
8) Paul Harris (6-4, 215, G) - Niagara Falls, New York (Niagara Falls)
9) Derrick Caracter (6-8, 275, F) - Elizabeth, New Jersey (St. Patrick's)
10) Vernon Macklin (6-10, 190, F) - Portsmouth, Virginia (I.C. Norcom)
11) Tywon Lawson (6-0, 180, G) - Forestville, Maryland (Oak Hill Academy)
12) Spencer Hawes (6-10, 220, C) - Seattle, Washington (Seattle Prep)
13) Jonathan Kreft (7-0, 240, PF) - Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, FL)
14) DeShawn Sims (6-7, 225, SF) - Pershing High School (Detroit, MI)
15) Duke Crews (6-7, 225, SF) - Bethel High School (Hampton, VA)

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by Ref Daddy

Possible Clue ... Top Boy's in 2006. Looks like Chesapeake and Ohio Valley areas win!

1) Greg Oden (7-0, 240, C) - Indianapolis, Indiana (Lawrence North HS)
2) Kevin Durant (6-9, 205, F) - Maryland (Montrose Christian)
3) Brandan Wright (6-9, 200, F) - Tennessee (Brentwood Academy)
4) Chase Budinger (6-7, 190, F) - Carlsbad, California (La Costa Canyon)
5) Wayne Ellington (6-4, 185, G) - Merion Station, Pennsylvania (Episcopal Academy)
6) Demond Carter (5-10, 165, PG) - Reserve Christian School (Reserve, LA)
7) Thaddeus Young (6-8, 205, F) - Memphis, Tennessee (Mitchell Road)
8) Paul Harris (6-4, 215, G) - Niagara Falls, New York (Niagara Falls)
9) Derrick Caracter (6-8, 275, F) - Elizabeth, New Jersey (St. Patrick's)
10) Vernon Macklin (6-10, 190, F) - Portsmouth, Virginia (I.C. Norcom)
11) Tywon Lawson (6-0, 180, G) - Forestville, Maryland (Oak Hill Academy)
12) Spencer Hawes (6-10, 220, C) - Seattle, Washington (Seattle Prep)
13) Jonathan Kreft (7-0, 240, PF) - Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, FL)
14) DeShawn Sims (6-7, 225, SF) - Pershing High School (Detroit, MI)
15) Duke Crews (6-7, 225, SF) - Bethel High School (Hampton, VA)

Am I missing something? I don't see Ohio listed on here at all . . .

[Ref Daddy]

The Ohio RIVER a.k.a. Ohio VALLEY. Generally covers PA, KY, TENN, Western VA, WV.