One player whose stock has soared after an excellent summer is Josh Boone, a developing 6-8, 215 pound power forward from Mt. Airy, Md. Boone is expected to be on the campus of Connecticut today.

Boone played last year at South Carroll H.S. in Sykesville, Md., and he will enroll next month at West Nottingham Acad. in Coloura, Md., for a prep year.

Boone scored 23 points in Cecil Kirk's 94-80 victory over the Hunting Park Warriors on Sunday night in the championship game of the Sonny Hill/Tony Samartino Future Stars Tournament.

Boone is quick from end to end and very light on his feet. He challenges shots effectively on the defensive end, and has probably packed on 15-20 pounds since the last time we saw him during the 2001-2002 campaign.

Boone told Rivalshoops.com that he has been offered scholarships by St. Joe's, Richmond, Virginia, Rutgers, UConn and Tennessee. Others who have expressed interest include Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Kansas, Georgetown, Stanford and Penn.

As a senior in high school last spring, Boone took official trips to St. Joe's and Rutgers. He said that he currently has no leaders, but he is leaning toward signing early.

He will have five official visits to use this fall, although he has yet to pledge any official trips to the schools on his list.

Last season at South Carroll, Boone averaged 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks per contest. An excellent student, Boone has a 3.5 GPA and scored a 1200 on the SAT.

He is attending prep school primarily for an extra year of physical maturity, as he certainly does not need it from an academic standpoint.

Boone's busy summer included pit stops at the first session of the Eastern Invitational Basketball Clinic, the Charlie Weber//Harley Davidson Invitational in West Virginia, the 17 and under AAU Nationals in Florida and the 19 and under AAU Nationals in Tennessee. He played at the latter two events with Cecil Kirk.

Boone plans on playing with Cecil Kirk at the Maryland Weber in October, so we will keep you posted on his recruitment and play in the weeks to come.