For those of you who follow recruiting...

[elmocarp]

All right, it sounds like Cameron Clark is likely about as high in the rankings as he is going to go. Henzo already gave his prediction that he wouldn't be a McDonald's All-American because being late to the party in terms of national exposure. So all that being said, where would you guys rank him? Here is how RSCI ranks their top 30 so far:

1 1 0.5 Harrison Barnes 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 698 6-6 WF Ames, IA
2 2 0.8 Jared Sullinger 3 2 3 3 3 1 2 690 6-8 C Columbus, OH Ohio State
3 3 1.4 Brandon Knight 2 3 2 2 1 5 4 688 6-3 PG Fort Lauderdale, FL
4 5 2.0 Kyrie Irving 4 5 5 4 9 3 6 671 6-1 PG Elizabeth, NJ
5 6 3.0 Perry Jones 5 4 4 6 6 12 3 667 6-9 C Duncanville, TX Baylor
6 8 4.5 Tristan Thompson 6 7 6 5 17 4 11 651 6-9 PF Henderson, NV Texas
7 9 2.0 Will Barton 10 9 8 8 11 10 5 646 6-6 WG Baltimore, MD Memphis
8 10 4.1 Josh Selby 15 6 10 12 4 14 8 638 6-2 PG Baltimore, MD
9 10 4.2 Tobias Harris 13 8 9 15 5 16 7 634 6-7 PF Dix Hills, NY
10 11 1.7 Reggie Bullock 9 11 11 13 10 9 13 631 6-6 WG Kinston, NC North Carolina
11 12 4.1 Josh Smith 7 14 13 11 19 8 10 625 6-9 C Kent, WA
12 12 4.2 DeShaun Thomas 17 10 14 10 18 6 12 620 6-6 PF Fort Wayne, IN Ohio State
13 13 2.6 C.J. Leslie 14 15 12 9 14 15 9 619 6-8 PF Raleigh, NC
14 13 4.4 Joe Jackson 12 12 17 7 12 13 21 613 5-11 PG Memphis, TN Memphis
15 16 2.6 Terrence Jones 18 13 20 17 13 17 15 594 6-7 PF Portland, OR
16 18 8.6 Jelan Kendrick 8 20 15 18 8 32 24 582 6-6 WF Atlanta, GA
17 20 14.2 Fab Melo 11 21 7 14 16 50 20 568 7-0 C Weston, FL Syracuse
18 20 7.2 Jereme Richmond 16 17 16 21 36 18 17 566 6-6 WF Waukegan, IL Illinois
19 21 6.2 Kendall Marshall 20 22 21 20 32 11 19 562 6-3 PG Arlington, VA North Carolina
20 21 3.6 Patric Young 24 19 18 19 28 20 22 557 6-8 PF Jacksonville, FL Florida
21 24 4.7 Doron Lamb 21 25 26 26 21 19 33 536 6-4 WG Mouth of Wilson, VA
22 26 12.1 Cory Joseph 26 18 22 41 7 40 30 523 6-3 PG Henderson, NV
23 27 10.1 Ryan Harrow 22 27 25 16 24 24 48 521 5-11 PG Marietta, GA NC State
24 27 7.5 Adreian Payne 28 40 19 33 20 28 23 516 6-10 C Dayton, OH
25 29 7.6 Cameron Clark 33 33 30 30 30 30 18 503 6-6 WF Sherman, TX Oklahoma
26 29 7.6 Justin Coleman 25 31 24 24 45 25 32 501 6-4 WF Richmond, VA
27 31 13.2 Josh Hairston 32 29 42 28 49 7 27 493 6-8 PF Spottsylvania, VA Duke
28 33 13.7 Roscoe Smith 34 23 32 32 31 60 16 479 6-7 WF Mouth of Wilson, VA
29 33 13.6 Ray McCallum 27 24 23 22 60 39 36 476 6-1 PG Beverly Hills, MI
30 34 13.2 Trey Zeigler 30 28 34 29 26 63 26 471 6-5 WG Mount Pleasant, MI

So are there guys ahead of him that you would drop or is he where you think he should be? This may be trivial, but I'm curious...

 

[jmill1200]

Here is a link to the McDonald's AA selection process.

http://www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com/selection_process.pdf

If Cam has a good senior season, there is a chance he will be on the roster.
He should make it to the final cut of 40 and if he is playing well, when the final voting takes place, he should have some strong consideration. He is sitting right around 25 to 30 depending on which service you use, but the player rankings aren't the only things they go off.

 

[dahldennsull]

Something else we need to hope for, that a lot of those top 25 guys are ineligible whether by age or injury. McD's has a lot of restrictions on who can play, and if kids are a year old or something, or have been hurt, and thus could move Cam up the list...

 

[Sam]

I just noticed something about the list Elmo posted, that list is very top heavy with East coast kids. By a rough count Cam is right around 10 on players in the "west", even though I think it will be tough considering Perry Jones is the top player in Texas. Cam might have a better shot than I originally thought.

 

[campbest]

I couldn't care less if he's a McD's All-American, sure it sounds cool, but I just want someone who is going to come in and produce. We all know he's highly ranked, what's the difference between a few spots in player's ranking?Strapping a fast food logo on his jersey doesn't change my opinion of him as a player, or devalue his potential impact.

Let me add, I hope he does get it because that is a cool personal award.

 

[BigTime]

Something else we need to hope for, that a lot of those top 25 guys are ineligible whether by age or injury. McD's has a lot of restrictions on who can play, and if kids are a year old or something, or have been hurt, and thus could move Cam up the list...

That's a great point and one that helped TMG last year with John Wall not playing in the game....

 

[elmocarp]

I didn't word my initial post very well...I'm not worrying about the All Star game at all. I am just wondering where you guys think he "should" be ranked. Are there guys ahead of him at his position that you think he is better than? Should he be in the top 20? Top 10? Just curious...

 

[gracefor24]

The problem for Clark is he isn't playing for a high profile HS team that will get a lot of pub. He is right on the edge and typically guys like him get jumped by guys that might be more local to the game or even higher profile teams.

He is also in a pretty loaded position at SF/SG. I don't think he makes it even though he has proven he deserves it.

 

[thebigabd]

What is a high profile high school team? The only reason high schools get noticed at all is because they have a big time player.

 

[Sam]

Usually teams in large urban areas or big prep schools. Sherman is a little too far out to be considered a high profile team for the DFW area.

 

[Cheno]

What is a high profile high school team? The only reason high schools get noticed at all is because they have a big time player.

He means programs, tradition, traveling teams like Oak Hill, on TV nowadays, etc.

The same reasons a kid on Duke gets more pub/hype then a kid on Bucknell.

 

[thebigabd]

He means programs, tradition, traveling teams like Oak Hill, on TV nowadays, etc.

The same reasons a kid on Duke gets more pub/hype then a kid on Bucknell.

I seem to remember hearing a lot about Steph Curry, Eric Maynor, Patty Mills, and several others not playing in BCS conferences last year.

 

[gracefor24]

I seem to remember hearing a lot about Steph Curry, Eric Maynor, Patty Mills, and several others not playing in BCS conferences last year.

There are exceptions, but they definitely prove the rule. Tiny Gallon benefitted last year by playing on a high profile team. He ended the summer ranked #30 by RSCI then through his stellar play he rose all the way to #10. The reason was because at Oak Hill he was playing against the best comp in the country and dominated. If he had been back in Houston I doubt his rise would have been so high, even though it still would have been deserved.

Not only high profile teams but high profile areas where people are more likely to get publicity or where higher amounts of voters reside.

 

[BigTime]

Usually teams in large urban areas or big prep schools. Sherman is a little too far out to be considered a high profile team for the DFW area.

Exactly. If Sherman were in Dallas itself (or better yet Houston) then Cam would get a lot more pub.

 

[jmill1200]

I like Cam's game, what I've seen of it. Would I rank him any higher than he is, thats tuff cuz I haven't watched but a few guys outside of who we are recruiting. I would like him to be a top 20 guy and an All American, it would be a reward for all the hard work he has put in. But he will be the same player regardless.


I think the ranking systems are a little overrated, so much of it is based on opinion. I would think that the top 50 or so are all, except a few super stud standouts, on the same level. Almost to close to call.

 

[chico got game]

I like Cam's game, what I've seen of it. Would I rank him any higher than he is, thats tuff cuz I haven't watched but a few guys outside of who we are recruiting. I would like him to be a top 20 guy and an All American, it would be a reward for all the hard work he has put in. But he will be the same player regardless.


I think the ranking systems are a little overrated, so much of it is based on opinion. I would think that the top 50 or so are all, except a few super stud standouts, on the same level. Almost to close to call.

This Cam clark kid is one of the greatest player i have seen in along time and trust me i seen alot of players this past summer this kid is not just a basketball player but a entertainer on the court if i had a say in the mcda vote he be one he brings back ecitement in the game.

 

[tomkar98]

This Cam clark kid is one of the greatest player i have seen in along time and trust me i seen alot of players this past summer this kid is not just a basketball player but a entertainer on the court if i had a say in the mcda vote he be one he brings back ecitement in the game.

I think you said it well. Cam, was very entertaining to watch. There were some people with video cameras at his games in the Back to School Shootout in Frisco this past month. Lets just say, he knew they were there and put on some pretty fine shows in the games he played.

 

[chico got game]

I think you said it well. Cam, was very entertaining to watch. There were some people with video cameras at his games in the Back to School Shootout in Frisco this past month. Lets just say, he knew they were there and put on some pretty fine shows in the games he played.

That kid play like that when it is no cameras around i seen him play in the Arlington tournament last year and been a fan every since then he plays even harder for his high school team,his highschool coach should play him at the guard more this season his chance of becoming mcda would be better.

 

[tomkar98]

That kid play like that when it is no cameras around i seen him play in the Arlington tournament last year and been a fan every since then he plays even harder for his high school team,his highschool coach should play him at the guard more this season his chance of becoming mcda would be better.

haha Oh I know he plays like that all the time. My point was, even with cameras rolling, he can put on, a very impressive performance. Thus, it would be great to see him play in the McDAA game.

 

[jmill1200]

Well, lets hope the voters see his senior season and gets him in the McDAA game. Maybe us fans have overlooked him a bit and are taking him for granted, since we are chasing some higher ranked recruits. BG and WWIII were both ranked right around 15 to 20 in their class, BG won POY and WWIII is a front runner this season, so in 2 years Cam could be the best in NCAA.

I won't lie, I get caught up in the class rankings a bit. Only for the respect issue, I want the rest of the country to respect OU. You don't get that with Juco guys and non top 25 recruiting classes. Plus whens the last time a juco kid led his team to a championship. You have a better shot at it, when you got one and done kids. Don't get me wrong I like out 2 and done system we have in place at OU, but both of them could have been one and done. Coaches aren't allowed enough time to develop players, so you need kids who are further along to win big.