Sidney transfers to Fairfax

As eluded to on this blog earlier in the week, blue chipper Renardo Sidney will indeed play basketball at Fairfax (Los Angeles) next season.

According to RISE Magazine, the rumor become reality when his father, Renardo Sr., broke the news to reporters Thursday at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic in New York City.

It's the third high school in as many years for Sidney, a native of Mississippi. Sidney, a 6-9 forward, is considered one of the nation's top 5 players in the Class of 2009. He helped lead Artesia (Lakewood) to the CIF Division III title and final No. 6 ranking last season.

Fairfax won its second Division I state crown in four years and finished ranked No. 21 in the National Prep Poll last season. Top returning players include senior guard Chris Solomon (6-2) and junior forward Solomon Hill (6-5).

We are already putting together preseason national rankings and it seems likely that the Lions will end up somewhere in or near the Top 10.

New Jersey Generals

There were three New Jersey boys basketball teams in the National Prep Poll Top 25 most of last season.

From the looks of it, the same three Jersey squads might be in the Top 10 (or 5) throughout this coming year.

I've been working through all the various news, notes and quotes I'm getting from coaches in preparation for this year's preseason basketball rankings. (Yes, already.) What I'm finding is that there's no reason to expect much of a drop off from St. Patrick, St. Benedict's or St. Anthony.

St. Patrick graduated two of the best players in its rich hoops history in Corey Fisher (Villanova) and Jeff Robinson (Memphis). But 19-year coach Kevin Boyle (photo), who has led the Celtics to four overall state titles the last five years, tells me there's plenty of talent left over to be a Top 5 team again. Junior G Dexter Strickland is rated the top junior point guard in the country by Scout.com and senior post Quintrell Thomas (6-8) is also a major recruit. Not to mention the arrival of 13-year old freshman Michael Gilchrist, a young phenom who is profiled in this Philadelphia Inquirer story.

We ranked St. Anthony No. 1 to start the season two years ago. Well, the injury bug severely bit the Friars that year and they actually ended up outside of the national rankings.

But we're not ruling out putting St. Ants in that spot again to start 07-08.

Travon Woodall is one of five seniors who will play Division I basketball next year. Junior Dominic Cheek is the nation's second-best shooting guard in his class, according to Scout.com.

Then there's St. Anthony's, coach Bob Hurley. He has over 900 career wins, two Prep Poll titles and it sounds like there's a movie being made based on his biography "The Miracle of St. Anthony."

Not too shaby.

As for St. Benedict's ... One year into partitioning their fifth-year players onto a separate prep school team last year, coach Danny Hurley (yes, son of Bob) led his team to a Top 10 finish in the National Prep Poll.

An aside about the younger Hurley. I'd probably have to say that Danny is my favorite Hurley. Even more than Bob or former Dukie Bobby.

Why? Because for some reason Danny, a lifelong New Jersey boy, shares my forlorn love for the World Series Champion-turned lovable losers Kansas City Royals. How about that?

On the court, the Gray Bees lost Corey Stokes to Villanova but return talented big men Samardo Samuels and Greg Echenique.

NOTE: Kevin Boyle photo is courtesy of The Hoop Group.

Hoops news and notes

It's that time of year for prep hoops. Time for me to collect all the information necessary for doing the preseason Power 50 basketball rankings for RISE Magazine (and, in the past, Sporting News before they did away with their HS publications).

More and more so, it seems to be moving time for top players around the country.

Here are a couple big ones that, as of now, are still just in the rumor stage. But I am working to confirm one way or the other before the end of the month. They figure to have a major impact on our rankings, one way or the other.

• Dick "Hoops" Weiss, maybe the best basketball columnist in the country, reports in the New York Daily News that talented junior point guard Lamont (Momo) Jones (a Louisville verbal) might be leaving NYC Catholic power Rice for American Christian School (Aston, Pa.). There, he would join blue chip 2-guard Tyreke Evans, who is a fifth-year senior, and thus makes AM ineligible for our poll. Otherwise, that potential 1-2 punch in the backcourt would make AM (13-7 last season) one of the teams to watch in the Northeast.
• Maybe an even bigger rumor move involves another junior -- Renardo Sidney (photo), perhaps the top player in the Class of 2009. Artesia's new head coach Kennith Shyne told me earlier this month that he expects Sidney to be back, but Clark Francis' HoopScoop website is reporting that Sidney told them that he'll play this year at Los Angeles City champ Fairfax. This would be the third different school in three years for Sidney, who is originally from Mississippi. First day of classes at Fairfax is Sept. 5. We should know more by then if not sooner.

As always, defending National Prep Poll champ Oak Hill Academy is chocked full of high-profile transfers.

Information I received this week from coach Steve Smith shows six new key contributors coming his way ... literally from coast to coast. The group includes senior guards Willie Warren
(formerly of North Crowley HS in TX) and USC recruit Malik Story (from Artesia HS in CA). A couple new big men are Keith Gallon (a 6-9 junior from Houston) and Danny Jennings (a 6-8 senior from Bishop Loughlin HS in Brooklyn).

With Arizona-bound superstar PG Brandon Jennings back for his senior year, needless to say Oak Hill will be hard to keep out of the No. 1 preseason ranking. Especially given the incredible schedule Steve Smith puts together, which this year will include likely preseason Top 10 (or 5) teams St. Patrick (NJ), Duncanville (TX), St. Benedict's (NJ) and Norcross (GA).

NOTE: The Renardo Sidney photo is courtesy of Mike Burnley, NBADraft.net.