Alex Kirk at the Pangos All-American Camp in June.
Photo by Nicholas Koza
It’s no longer a given that high school stars will play in the community they were born and raised in due to academy and prep opportunities specifically geared at attracting basketball prospects.
At the college level, the notion of a team built on in-state stars was abandoned long ago as nearly all programs at the Division I level spread their wings in search of talent.
But local ties did help the University of New Mexico score one of its biggest verbal commitments in years when 6-foot-11 Los Alamos senior Alex Kirk elected to remain in his home state to play college basketball.
“There has been a lot of support to stay locally,” Kirk’s father and head coach at Los Alamos, Allen Kirk, said. “At some point I think Alex decided he wanted to stay out west, although Maryland showed a lot of interest until the end before he settled in on Arizona and New Mexico.
“He has a lot of friends and classmates at UNM. His contacts are a lot greater there and I think he had seen enough to know that is where he wanted to end up.”
Kirk’s commitment is the latest positive signal for Lobo head coach Steve Alford as he attempts to put a once-proud program back on the national map. In his first two seasons at New Mexico, the former Southwest Missouri State and Iowa coach has posted 46 wins and helped bring the school its first conference title in 15 seasons.
“Coach Alford and Coach (Craig) Neal, I think they are kind of package deal,” Allen Kirk said. “They are building the program recruit-by-recruit and you can see that positive steps are being taken.
“New Mexico has been recruiting him since he was a sophomore. He could have committed a lot earlier, but he was dedicated to going through the process.”
Kirk averaged 27.6 points per game as a junior at Los Alamos and becomes the second Land of Enchantment star in as many years to sign with Alford and UNM, reversing a trend that saw the state’s top talents in the last decade end up elsewhere. Guard Chad Adams of Albuquerque’s Highland High School is a freshman on the Lobo roster this fall.
“It seems like the majority of the top players from this state have always left,” Allen Kirk said, pointing to players like A.J. Bramlett (Arizona), Kasey Cunningham (USC), Harvey Hale (Wake Forest), Jeff Taylor (Vanderbilt).
Kirk – No. 73 in MaxPreps.com’s 2010 Top 100 – spent the summer playing AAU ball with the Houston Hoops, a program that has produced NBA standouts like T.J. Ford, Rashard Lewis, Stephen Jackson and Kendrick Perkins. Talented guards Brandon Peters (Houston Yates), Tommy Mason-Griffin (Houston Madison) and L.J. Rose (Houston Second Baptist) were among his teammates during a circuit that included stops in Florida, Minnesota, South Carolina and Virginia.
“Playing with 10 other Division I players showed him that he can play,” Allen Kirk said. “Watching him play for the Hoops has been interesting because he went from being the focal point (at Los Alamos) to a role player. He realized that his rebounds and outlets all go into the score and the success of the team.”
New Mexico's rabid fans at "The Pit" will have to wait another year, but expect Kirk's 6-11 presence to lead to plenty of success in the Mountain West Conference under Alford's tutelage.
Field set for 20th annual Hawk Kreul Classic
A South Florida tradition, the Hawk Kreul Classic will host its 20th annual basketball tournament Dec. 18-22 at Coral Springs High School and features top talents from both the 2010 and 2011 classes.
The headliner will be Brandon Knight and Pine Crest of Fort Lauderdale. Knight is MaxPreps.com’s top-rated player in the class of 2010 and has led the Panthers to back-to-back 3A state titles.
Quality Education Academy of Winston-Salem, N.C., gives the event an appealing out-of-state attraction. The Fighting Pharoahs feature 6-9 junior Quincy Miller – No. 7 nationally in the class of 2011 – and underrated guard Stargell Love.
Other players of interest include high-scoring guard Jelani Hewitt of Northeast (Oakland Park, Fla.), football-basketball standout Jacoby Brissett of Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and 6-8 sophomore Zach Peters of Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas).
New Jersey powerhouse St. Benedict’s Prep captured the 2008 tournament title.
Complete Field
Florida teams: Chaminade (Hollywood), Coral Springs Christian (Coral Springs), Dillard (Fort Lauderdale), Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens), Miramar, Monsignor Pace (Miami), North Miami Beach, Northeast (Oakland Park), Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale), St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), The Rock (Gainesville), West Boca (Boca Raton)
Out-of-state teams: Coolidge (Washington, D.C.), KIMA (Washington, D.C.), Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), Quality Education (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Hawk Challenge/Coral Springs Challenge (shootout-style, all Florida teams unless otherwise noted): Atlantic (Delray Beach), Belen Jesuit (Miami), Brooks College Prep (Chicago, Ill.), Collier (Naples), Coral Glades (Coral Springs), Coral Springs, Cypress Bay (Weston), Deerfield Beach, Mount Airy (N.C.), Norland (Miami), Pahokee, Providence (Jacksonville), South Broward (Hollywood), St. Anthony’s (Long Island, N.Y.), Sunrise Christian (Wichita, Kan.), Wekiva (Apopka)
Available Top 100 prospects dwindling
With the start of the high school basketball season about two months away in most parts of the country, less than a third (32) of MaxPreps.com’s Top 100 seniors have yet to make a verbal commitment.
Expect a steady stream of pledges between now and Nov. 11 – the first day of the early signing period – as prospects will look to end the recruiting process before the start of their senior seasons.
The top uncommitted prospects include the aforementioned Knight (No. 1), Iowa’s Harrison Barnes (No. 4) and Washington big man Josh Smith (No. 6). While it appears Knight will hold off until the spring to make a decision, Barnes and Smith are expected to cement their plans in November.
