Pelphrey firing puts Arkansas' class in jeopardy

The coaching carousel could take a toll on one of the nation's top recruiting classes.

The firing of John Pelphrey at Arkansas leaves a five-man recruiting class tabbed as the seventh-best nationally by MaxPreps in limbo.

The all-star incoming cast was seen as a major coup for the former Razorback coach and some suggested it could amount to a job-saver regardless of the on-the-floor results in 2011-12. That notion was clearly misguided following Monday's dismissal, coming on the heels of an 18-13 season ended by a SEC Tournament first-round loss to Tennessee.

While most of the Arkansas signees are taking a wait-and-see approach, 6-foot-3 guard B.J. Young of McCluer North (Florissant, Mo.) – regarded as the jewel of the class – indicated a change of heart is possible.

"I'm weighing all my options to see what is best, and then I'm going to make a decision," Young told stltoday.com.



The Missouri guard's status will be a major focus after seeing his stock soar with a monster senior season. Young led McCluer North to a 29-4 record and Class 5 state title, averaging nearly 30 points per game in the process. He out-dueled Florida-bound Bradley Beal and Chaminade (St. Louis) in a memorable quarterfinal contest, exploding for 27 points in the second half.

Other members of the Razorbacks' celebrated class include 6-7 forward Devonta Abron of Seagoville (Dallas, Texas), 6-4 guard Rashad Madden of East Poinsett County (Lepanto, Ark.), 6-9 forward Hunter Mickelson of Westside (Jonesboro, Ark.) and 6-8 forward Aaron Ross of Parkview (Little Rock, Ark.).

Arkansas is not required to release the signees from their letter of intent, but the pattern in recent cases is to allow recruits to go elsewhere following a coaching change.

Junior-dominated Marcus takes Texas 5A title

The most accomplished 2011 senior class at a public high school belongs to Milton (Ga.), where Jordan Loyd (Furman signee), Dai-Jon Parker (Vanderbilt), Julian Royal (Georgia Tech) and Shannon Scott (Ohio State) led the Eagles to their third-straight Class AAAAA state championship game last week.

Although they were upset by Norcross in the title game, the Milton seniors went 82-15 over the past three years with a state championship in 2010. Parker, Royal and Scott are all consensus Top 100 picks.



Newly-crowned Texas 5A state champs Marcus (Flower Mound) may lay claim the best collection of 2012 senior talent at a public school.

Current juniors Marcus Smart, Phil Forte, Nick Banyard and A.J. Luckey led the Marauders to a 39-1 season capped by a 40-38 win over nationally-ranked Lakeview Centennial (Garland) in the final. Marcus is ranked No. 2 in MaxPreps.com's national top 25 this week.

"We have a chance to be really good again," Marcus head coach Danny Henderson said. "We have a chance to be better as long as we maintain our work ethic. We'll have to see how we handle things with a state championship trophy in our hands."

Smart, a 6-3 guard with a linebacker build, is the most highly-touted – a five-star candidate when MaxPreps releases its 2012 rankings next month. He posted 13.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game this season.

"He doesn't care if he scores a point," Henderson said. "The best way I can describe him is like a Magic Johnson at the high school level. He dominates games defensively. He has games where he scores eight points and just totally dominates the game and everybody in the gym knows who the best player was. That's the kind of player he is."

With Smart playing the lead role, the Marauders went 37-3 in 2009-10 before losing in the state semifinals. According to Henderson, Smart and Forte – friends since the third grade – will entertain the idea of going to college as a package deal. Most of the Big 12 as well as North Carolina are in pursuit of Smart.

"Marcus and Phil will probably both decide this summer," Henderson said. "They would like to go together but Phil has too much pride to be a tag-along."



Forte, a 5-11 point guard, led Marcus in scoring this season at 16.8 points per game and drilled 141 of 303 3-point attempts (46.5 percent). Oklahoma State was the first to offer and Utah, Boise State and San Francisco have followed suit.

"He is the hardest-working kid I've ever coached," Henderson said. "His daily routine is to make 600 threes. He's a gym-rat deluxe, that's for sure."

Six-foot-eight Banyard and Luckey both posted over eight points per game.

Commitments

* One-time Western Kentucky verbal Cezar Guerrero of St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) is headed to Oklahoma State, where will join fellow incoming Cowboy LeBryan Nash of Lincoln (Dallas, Texas). Guerrero's pledge gives head coach Travis Ford a pair of Top 100 recruits to join a roster that should return six of its top eight scorers from this season.

Guerrero, a 6-foot, 175-pound point guard, is No. 86 in MaxPreps.com's 2011 Top 100. He had a huge senior season, averaging 27.9 points per game and dropping 48 points against nationally-ranked Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in early January.



* Well-traveled Todd Mayo, the younger brother of Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo, will play at Marquette. The sturdy 6-3 guard began his high school career at South Point (Ohio), where he averaged 22.6 points per game as a sophomore. Mayo spent his senior season at Germantown (Tenn.) and raised his stock this winter at Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.).