BC A SPARTAN

At Christmas I told Brandon I'd stop writing on here that he's going to Michigan State. Is it OK now? He has the potential -- potential -- to become one of the school's great little scoring guards in the line of Shawn Respert and Scott Skiles. BC is a good kid and will represent the school well. As will the following young man at his respective college ...

FROM DUTCH TO FLYING DUTCHMAN

The biggest recruiting upset of the year came when Holland guard Jeff Carlson said he'll play for Hope College next year. He's an all-around guard who averaged 20 points per game as a senior. As a sophomore and junior he started then starred on team ranked in the top 10 in Class A. Jeff may not be well known around the state because he wasn't in with the AAU rah-rah crowd, but one would be hard-pressed to find a more well-rounded player. Coming into Hope, where his older brother Chad will be a senior captain next season, he's a better prospect than guys who went on to be All-Americans like Joel Holstege, Duane Bosma and maybe even Eric Elliott. I get confused about E2, though, because he continued to improve so much after college, even, that it becomes blurry how good he was at what point of his career.

Hope will also have Joe Schramm coming in. The 6'5" forward was a Class C all-stater at Laingsburg, where former Hope player Greg Mitchell is the coach.

Five Underrated Seniors:

1. Jeff Carlson 6'3" 2G Holland

Best of all, I like Carlson's leadership ability, the way he interracted with his diverse Dutch teammates.

2. Chauncey Shelton 6'5" 2G Detroit Rogers

When Ricardo Billings got injured Chauncey was able to show a handle uncanny for a 6'5" high school player. He'll be able to do it all down at Toledo. Early on I misread Shelton as both a player and person, he deserves an A on both counts.

3. Jim Brinks 6'5" PF Kalamazoo Christian

Upon further review, those weren't all easy shots he was converting when Christian beat Rogers' press in the Class C semifinal. Should do quite well at Dordt College.

4. Eric Williams 6'3" 2G Ann Arbor Pioneer

What more could you ask from your big guard but for shooting, court awareness, rebounding and defense?

5. Pat Abraham 6'4" WF Plymouth Salem

I like how he can play either an up-tempo or half-court game and stick all his open shots.

HATCH A ... WHAT DID MIAMI CHANGE ITS NICKNAME TO AGAIN?

6'1" Carman-Ainsworth combo guard Will Hatcher is headed to Miami-OH. That sets up some interesting MAC match-ups the next four years when Miami plays Central Michigan. Do you think Hatcher will want payback on Joe Carr, who knocked out his teeth in last year's state AAU tournament? What was really pathetic about that situation was that perhaps the two best 17-under teams, Hatcher's Flint squad which included himself, Quinton Carouthers, Brandon Dunbar and Scott Richardson, and the Family, were both kicked out of the tournament.

ONE AND DONE

With Stan Heath leaving Kent State for Arkansas, will he still be a recruiting presence in Michigan? I don't recall the Hogs recruiting much outside the Dirty South when Nolan Richardson was the coach, with the exceptions being Darnell Robinson from NoCal and Pat Bradley from Massachusetts ... and that Euro foreign exchange student whose host family was the Richardsons. Any one who has read about Bill Clinton's early political career may have come to the conclusion that the state of Arkansas is not the nicest place to live, DI ballplayer or no.

D UP

Detroit Rogers will be back in Class D next season. It was in Class C this year because of a clerical error. The Rangers would have to be considered a definite state title threat yet again, with 6'2" Byron Davis, 6'6" LeShawn Woodard and 6'2" Dhaman Finley all back, and 6'3" Jalon Perryman poised to step up as a sophomore. The one variable is that at some point Rogers coach, Steve Hall, is likely to take a college job.