Combo Forward Lists 11 Schools

Keith Smith, a 6-7, 215 pound combo forward from Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City, OK, has a list of eleven schools according to Head Coach A.D. Burtschi. We spoke to Burtschi at last weekend's inaugural High School National Championship at the Penn Palestra in Philadelphia.

Putnam City, the defending 6A state champions, took fourth place at the HSNC after dropping a 64-55 game to Georgia's Redan High School. The Pirates had topped Loyola HS (CA) 84-80 in the quarterfinals before losing 66-59 to DeMatha Catholic HS (MD) in the semis last Saturday.

"Schools that are recruiting Smith include Kansas State, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Colorado State, Southern Illinois, Williams & Mary, TCU and the in-state schools, Oral Roberts, Tulsa, OU (Oklahoma) and O State (Oklahmoma State)," Butschi said. Smith was unable to play during this event.

Butschi said he thought this event was great. "While I think it's helpful for players to use AAU to face tough competition and get exposure," Butschi said, "I think there's something missing in AAU ball. About 70 percent of their play is transition. And it seems that high school coaches become secondary in the recruiting process."

Ironically, this event which started with over 200 high school teams was not certified by the NCAA for college coaches to evaluate the players because the schools are provided travel assistance by the sponsors, And One Basketball and Hoop Group. Steve Keller of Hoop Group said that plans for next year are to have the final tournament during the dead period in July.