1999 recruiting class shows rich keep getting richer

Friday, Nov. 27, 1998 | 10:55 a.m.

Steve Carp's college basketball notebook appears Fridays. Reach him at carp@lasvegassun.com or 259-4087.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- So, who won the first battle in the 1999 recruiting war?

You might as well round up the usual suspects, as you won't find a Middle Tennessee State or a St. Mary's at the head of the class. Or the back of the class for that matter.

According to two experts -- Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports and Frank Burlison of the Orange County Register -- Duke, Kentucky and Kansas did exceptionally well.

"Kentucky got two of my top 10 players -- Keith Bogans and Marvin Stone," Gibbons said. "All four of Kentucky's signees are top-100 rated."

Burlison, who compiled a list of the Top 15 players on the West Coast for the Register, gave Duke the nod over Kentucky.

"Duke got the best point guard in Jason Williams," he said. "Casey Sanders may be the best center in the country and they also got Mike Dunleavy's kid, who is going to be a great player."

Burlison's top five were Duke, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida and a tie for fifth between Stanford and Alabama.

"Virginia did a great job," he said. "They got Travis Watson, Roger Mason and Majestic Mapp. You know (Pete) Gillen can recruit."

Gibbons' early rankings had Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Virginia and Alabama.

"Kansas did very well," he said. "Two of my top 10 went to Kansas -- Nick Collison and Andrew Gooden. They'll really help Roy Williams' front line."

As for UNLV, Gibbons and Burlison said Dalron Johnson, who the Rebels have signed, has a tremendous upside. But they added that Jason Kapono, who UNLV would like to sign, is the key to how well the Rebels fare.

"Kapono's a top-10 player," Gibbons said. "If they get him, they're a top-20 class."

Burlison said: "If they get Kapono, that puts them right up there and keeps them in line to knock on the door of being in the top 25."

Can't wait to play

Arizona State freshman Kenny Crandall had already missed enough court time. So he wasn't going to let a long trip deter him from joining his teammates in Hawaii.

Crandall had just been ruled eligible by the NCAA Monday and hopped a flight from Phoenix to San Francisco. He slept at the airport that night so he wouldn't miss his flight to Maui, where the Sun Devils were playing in the Maui Classic.

"It was the longest night of my life," the 6-foot-4 Crandall told the Arizona Republic.

Crandall arrived Tuesday at the Lahaina Civic Center at halftime of the Sun Devils' game with Kansas State, immediately changed into his uniform for the first time and even though he had never practiced with the team, played 10 minutes in ASU's 84-80 overtime loss. He scored three points but managed to foul out in his inaugural stint.

ASU better enjoy Crandall while it can. After this season, he's going on his Mormon mission and won't be back in Tempe for two years.

Sick bay

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun was hurting Tuesday at the Hartford Civic Center. So much so that he never made it out of the locker room for No. 2-ranked UConn's game with Hartford.

No matter. Calhoun was hardly missed as the Huskies blew out Hartford, 95-58. Dave Leitao, the associate head coach, handled things smoothly while Calhoun battled a stomach virus in the locker room.

It was the fifth time Calhoun has had to miss a game because of illness. The last time was in 1994 when Calhoun had to miss the Connecticut-Syracuse game due to pneumonia.

Tops in the WAC

Pop quiz time: Which team has the best record in the Western Athletic Conference?

TCU? Nope. New Mexico. Uh-uh.

Try Air Force.

The Falcons are 4-0 and one of just two undefeated WAC schools (New Mexico's 2-0). Of course, Air Force isn't exactly playing a killer schedule. As usual, coach Reggie Minton has loaded up on cupcakes for the Zoomies, knowing full well that once WAC play starts, the W's are going to be tough to come by.

The Academy's four wins have come at the expense of Wofford, Regis, Doane and Colorado-Colorado Springs. The Falcons' first real "test" comes Saturday against Navy at Clune Arena.

The Fraud Five

In honor of the late Gordy Fink, who along with broadcaster Tony Cordasco and former UNLV assistant Mark Warkentien produced a list of bogus underachieving programs on the "Rebel Talk" pregame radio show several years ago, we bring you "The Fraud Five."

With input from Cordasco, who will do radio play-by-play on eight UNLV games this year, here's this week's Fraud Five:

1. Tennessee (3-2) -- Vols too worried about their BCS instead of RPI ranking.

2. Rhode Island (3-2) -- No sign of Lamar Odom in Hall of Fame yet.

3. Utah (3-2) -- Hey, Rick Majerus warned you his team wasn't that good.

4. Memphis (2-1) -- Tic's Tigers not growling as expected.

5. Missouri (2-1) -- Antlers can't be happy losing to SW Missouri at home.

Hoop du jour

Did SMU really think it was going to make it all the way to New York and the Preseason NIT Final Four? And knowing it had to play Stanford, no less? The Mustangs last played Nov. 18 and have played the fewest amount of games in the WAC. SMU's next game is Sunday against Florida Atlantic. ... Must See TV -- The Great Eight from Chicago. Tuesday, UConn plays Washington in a rematch of their second- round NCAA tourney battle and Kansas faces Kentucky. Wednesday, Utah plays Rhode Island and Duke takes on Michigan State. ... So far, so good for Mike Jarvis at St. John's. He's got the Red Storm playing up-tempo on offense and full-court pressure defense. It got the 3-1 Johnnies a nice win over UMass in the second round of the Preseason NIT and they should have beaten Stanford Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, squandering a 10-point lead down the stretch. The Red Storm's Erick Barkley is turning heads in New York with his impressive play. ... The transition continues in Austin as Rick Barnes tries to get 0-3 Texas to play some defense. The Longhorns got trampled at Arizona Wednesday, 73-57.