Blair Basketball In the News

Recruiting Dish: Deng showcases skills

By Mike Sullivan
July 15, 2002

If you had to choose one player in the class of 2003 that you would want to start your team with it’s an easy answer -- 6-8 multi-talented Luol Deng of Blair Academy in New Jersey. Deng exemplifies what a “great” player is.

Deng, rated the second best player in the country by RivalsHoops.com, put his skills and courage on display this past weekend at the talent-rich Three Stripes Classic event on the campus of Hofstra University.

Deng, banged up with a badly bruised knee, torched a Juice All Stars team for 43 points. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and had six assists.

This was typical of Deng all tournament long. When asked why he decided to play instead of sit out, Deng responded: “I made a commitment to my team. I want to play. If I can run, I will play.”

Deng couldn’t help lead his team to the Three Stripes title but he personifies what a great athlete should be. Deng has no ego. Yes, he is confident in his game. But there are no unusual boasts or attracting attention to himself.

He plays hurt and he is happy to be playing basketball. Deng loves the game and appreciates how he can use the game to make himself an even better athlete and person.

There are many top programs interested in Luol. Florida head coach Billy Donovan, George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs, Missouri head coach Quin Snyder, and Coach K of Duke all made appearances at the beautiful Hofstra facility located on Long Island. In addition, there were assistants from Virginia, Texas, and Indiana showing their love for Deng.

“I plan on taking five visits,” Deng told us. “I want to see what schools have to offer in education and basketball. I want to give everyone an equal chance. It only helps me by doing that.”

Whoever lands Deng should celebrate. Deng will make the other four guys on the court and the remaining players on the bench better and feel like they are just as important as he is. Luol Deng is one of the few players on any high school level that appreciates the “obligation to the we“ as opposed to being obsessed with the “I.” . . .

Three Stripes Tournament director Gary DeCesare did another incredible job this year in formulating the field. It was deep and tough. Many of the nation’s top AAU programs and players were on hand to play at this event.

But the shocker of this tournament was the more highly regarded AAU programs couldn’t defeat the New York Elite, a group of players who are more likely to head to mid level division one programs.

Tournament MVP Gordon Klaiber scored 18 points in the final to help the Elite defeat the Los Angeles Rockfish. There is talk that Klaiber will play at Albany next year.

The Elite advanced to the final against the Rockfish after Keith Simmons hit a driving jumper as time expired to eliminate the very talented Playaz team. Gene Selimi added 11 points for the winners in the final and was also named to the all tournament team. But each player on the Elite made valuable contributions throughout the rigorous run for the title.

The others players who made the all tourney team were Keith Simmons (NY Elite), Justin Hawkins, Jim Goffredo, and Joel Smith (Los Angeles Rockfish), Luol Deng (NJ Demons), Charlie Villanueva and Sammy Mejia (Long Island Panthers), Shaun Livingston (Fort Soohy), Lawrence McKenzie (Team Minnesota), Daon Merritt and Curtis Stinson (New York Ravens), Ramel Bradley (Juice), Stanley Branch, Sean Banks and J.R. Smith (Playaz), Gerald Brown (Baltimore Select), Lamarcus Aldridge (Texas Blue Chips), Jimmy Miles, Dameon Mason, and Lorenzo Thompson (Illinois Fire), and Oumar Sylla (Minutemen).

It’s likely the players mentioned above are likely to land at a division one school and 99 percent of them will play for high profile programs. It’s a credit to DeCesare that he was able to amass this field and outdo himself again. It certainly has given us an appetite to have more events like these at such a great facility as Hofstra. . . .

Some of the players that have elevated their stock after the Three Stripes event include Justin Hawkins of the Rockfish, Richard Dorsey of the Baltimore Select, Gene Selimi and Keith Simmons of the New York Elite, Lorenzo Thompson and Dameon Mason of the Illinois Fire, Sean Marshall of Inland, Andres Sandoval of the Middlesex Magic, and Andrew Francis of the Texas Bluechips. Schools seem to be talking about most of these players during the tournament. . . .

When watching Charlie Villanueva drop down jumpers from the outside, you wonder if that means the 6-10 forward is taking another step toward putting his name into the June 2003 draft. After all, how many guys that are 6-10 can play the wing like Villanueva on any level?

Certainly it is our belief that some time on the college level would only increase Charlie’s success on the professional level. And there are plenty of big name programs that would love to have Villanueva even if it means a year or two. “I am pretty much focused on going to college right now,” Villaneuva said. “But I am keeping the NBA situation as an option. But right now I am thinking college first.”

The schools that have a shot at this top five player include Villanova, Illinois, Seton Hall, St. John’s, and UCLA. “I don’t have a leader,” Villanueva said. “I would like to take some visits. I like to visit Illinois and UCLA for sure since they are far away. I can always visit the other schools unofficially since they are so close.”

Mike Sullivan covers college basketball recruiting for The Sporting News. He is the publisher of rivalshoops.com, a Web site dedicated to high school and college basketball news and recruiting information.

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