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Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Clark Kissick

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:26:10 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

It's not every year that Bath County High School is producing a D-1 football prospect but Clark Kissick seems to have changed that.

The 6'1 245 lbs. QB is already getting interest from "Mississippi State,Kentucky,Texas Tech,Western Kentucky,TCU,Michigan,Oregon,Eastern Kentucky,Bowling Green,Harvard,Georgetown (D.C.),Brown,Princeton, and Miami (FL)."

Kissick says "They all stand out in different ways, I love Mississippi State because I have a lot of family there. Of course with Kentucky always be toward the top because I'm a Kentucky boy. I also really like what's happening at Western Kentucky. TCU and Texas Tech have just came up recently as well as Oregon and Michigan. I really like Bowling Green and my dad played at Eastern Kentucky in the 80's."

As for which programs are pursuing Clark the heaviest he says "Kentucky,Western Kentucky,Bowling Green,Mississippi State, and TCU are recruiting me the hardest."

While those schools are pursuing him pretty hard Kissick says "Kentucky and Western Kentucky's coaching staffs have stood out to me the most."

The Owingsville (KY) star will take some visits soon and he says he'll visit "Western Kentucky again, and Mississippi State. I also plan to visit Georgetown and maybe Princeton,Brown, and Harvard." Kissick also plans on camping at either TCU or Texas Tech and says possibly even Miami (FL) or Michigan.

One visit and program that seems to have cemented itself in Clark's favorites is Kentucky which he visited for the spring game of which he says "I sat with Coach Smith, for most of the dinner along with Coach Sanders and I also talked to Coach Phillips. They said they want to see me in the camp one more time."

One program stopped by Bath Co. HS, as Western Kentucky stopped in to check up on Clark and say "They were very interested in me, and want me to camp there, before a offer is extended."

As for other prospects Clark wouldn't mind playing with is two Louisville Trinity stars in James Quick and Dalyn Dawkins, as well as Bourbon County (KY) RB Kentayvous Hopkins. Of Hopkins Kissick says "He was unreal, we battled with him the entire game but fell short, he was all the hype we had heard."

2012 Sports Xpress All-Americans

Thu, 10 May 2012 23:55:28 GMT

East

Nerlens Noel
Kyle Anderson
Alex Poythress

Rodney Purvis
Ricardo Ledo
Kaleb Tarczewski
Steven Adams
Mitch McGary
Gary Harris
DaJuan Coleman
Sam Dekker
T.J. Warren

Others Considered:J.P. Tokoto,Tyler Lewis,Glenn Robinson III,Devonta Pollard,Montrezl Harrell

West

Shabazz Muhammad
Archie Goodwin
Rasheed Sulaimon
Brandon Ashley

Marcus Paige
Perry Ellis
Anthony Bennett
Isaiah Austin
Marcus Smart
Danuel House
Cameron Ridley
Grant Jerrett

Others Considered:Shaq Cleare,Willie Cauley,Winston Shepard,Katin Reinhardt,Ricardo Gathers,Gabe York

Sports Xpress 2012 Basketball Top 50

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:21:27 GMT

It's time to wrap up the 2012 class, and move onto the stars of 2013. Here's our final 2012 rankings and a new name sits at the top in Nerlens Noel who made the jump from the 2013 class into the 2012 class. With Noel holding down the #1 spot Shabazz Muhammad moves down to #2 which we'll call 1B.

1. Nerlens Noel
2. Shabazz Muhammad
3. Kyle Anderson

4. Steven Adams
5. Kaleb Tarczewski
6. Anthony Bennett
7. Isaiah Austin
8. Alex Poythress
9. Rodney Purvis

10. Archie Goodwin
11. Ricardo Ledo
12. Rasheed Sulaimon
13. Brandon Ashley
14. Marcus Smart

15. Glen Robinson III
16. Gary Harris
17. Danuel House
18. Kris Dunn
19. T.J. Warren
20. Grant Jerrett
21. Mitch McGary
22. Marcus Paige
23. Devonta Pollard
24. DaJuan Coleman
25. Cameron Ridley
26. Amile Jefferson
27. Perry Ellis
28. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera

29. J.P. Tokoto
30. Tony Parker
31. Shaq Goodwin
32. Ricardo Gathers
33. Winston Shepard
34. Tyler Lewis
35. Justin Anderson
36. Shaq Cleare
37. Sam Dekker
38. Yogi Ferrell

39. Torian Graham
40. Jeremy Hollowell
41. Semaj Christon
42. Jerami Grant
43. Gabe York
44. Robert Carter
45. Shaquille Johnson
46. Omar Calhoun
47. Willie Cauley
48. Chicken Knowles
49. Katin Reinhardt
50. Robert Upshaw

Others considered: Jordan Adams,Brice Johnson,Montrezl Harrell,JaKarr Sampson,Braxton Ogbueze,Hanner Perea,A.J. Hammons,Elijah Macon,Dominic Artis,Chris Obekpa,L.J. Rose,Cameron Biedschied

(12/23/2011)

1.Shabazz Muhammad
2.Kyle Anderson
3.Mitch McGary
4.Kris Dunn
5.Isaiah Austin
6.Brandon Ashley
7.Danuel House
8.Alex Poythress
9.Anthony Bennett
10.Shaquille Johnson
11.Amile Jefferson
12.Ricardo Ledo
13.Rasheed Sulaimon
14.Rodney Purvis
15.Tyler Lewis
16.Marcus Smart
17.Gary Harris

18.Gabe York
19.Torian Graham
20.D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera
21.Ryan Arcidiacono
22.Shaquille Goodwin
23.Hanner Perea
24.Ricardo Gathers
25.Archie Goodwin
26.DaJuan Coleman
27.Chris Obekpa
28.Grant Jerrett
29.Sam Dekker
30.Marcus Paige

31.Perry Ellis
32.Robert Upshaw
33.Justin Anderson
34.A.J. Hammons
35.Kaleb Tarczewski
36.Winston Shepard
37.T.J. Warren
38.Devonta Pollard
39.J.P. Tokoto
40.Jeremy Hollowell
41.Tony Parker
42.Steven Adams
43.Cameron Ridley
44.Cameron Biedschied
45.Glenn Robinson III
46.Kevin Ferrell
47.Shaq Cleare
48.Brice Johnson
49.Willie Cauley
50.Robert Carter

SportsXpress Recruiting Xclusive:Lyndon Rowe

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:30:05 GMT

By: Burke Garner

The city of Louisville always has its fair share of talent that comes through each year to play at the next level and Lyndon Rowe will be the next in a long line of Athletes. Rowe, a 5'8 180 pound Junior RB/CB from Ballard High School took some time out of his busy schedule to update us on where he stands in his recruitment:

Burke Garner: What camps are you planning to attend this summer?

Lyndon Rowe: " I plan on attending Louisville, Kentucky, WKU, EKU, and Indiana this summer."

BG: Any games for this upcoming season that you are most looking forward to?

LR: "For this upcoming season I just want to take it one game at a time. Whoever is next on the schedule. But a couple key games I look forward to will be when we go to Papa Johns Stadium to play River Dale of Tennessee and when we play Louisville Central at Ballard. A lot of competition in my class that game."

BG: What do you do during the offseason to help improve your game?

LR: "During the offseason I try to improve every aspect of my game. This summer I will be adding hills to my workouts to improve my leg strength."

BG: Any players you would like to play with at the next level?

LR: " My class has a lot of talent. A couple of names I would love to play with would be Reggie Bonnafon. He is a agile quarterback with a great arm. Another player I would enjoy playing with at the next level would be Bennie Berry from Ballard who I share the backfield with, he could also move and play the slot he is very explosive. David Samwaru also."

UFC on Fox 3 Recap

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:07:17 GMT

By: Brandon Quillen (@SX_BWQ on Twitter)

Nate Diaz def. Jim Miller by Submission (guillotine choke) at 4:09 of the 2nd round

In a completely one-sided fight, Nate Diaz continued his recent dominance over the Lightweight division. Diaz used his jab to keeper the shorter Miller away. Miller couldn't quite find the right range for his relentless takedowns. Diaz looks like a man on a mission.

Johny Hendricks def. Josh Koscheck by split decision

This was an absolute war. In the first two rounds Hendricks got the best of Koscheck on the feet. However, in the third round Koscheck used his superior wrestling to land a takedown and continued to win the round. This fight should've been a 28-28 Draw.

Alan Belcher def. Rousimar Palhares by TKO (punches and elbows) at 4:18 of the 1st round

Rousimar Palhares used his strength to takedown the lankier Belcher. While on the ground Palhares attempted to go for a heel hook several times. However, Alan Belcher used great submission defense and eventually mounted Palhares before stopping him with elbows.

Lavar Johnson def. Pat Barry by TKO (punches) at 4:38 of the 1st round

These two traded big KO shots on the feet, Lavar Johnson with his hands and Pat Barry with a left head kick. Barry attempted a takedown that was sprawled by Johnson, but Barry eventually got mount. Unusually, Barry transitioned from mount to side control and almost made Johnson tap with an americana. Johnson scrambled free and hit Barry with several left hooks and right uppercuts before he eventually dropped.

Award Bonuses

Fight of the night: Louis Gaudinot def. John Lineker

KO of the night: Lavar Johnson

Submission of the night: Nate Diaz

Matches to Make

Nate Diaz VS the winner of Ben Henderson/Frankie Edgar

Jim Miller VS the loser of Henderson/Edgar

Johny Hendricks VS Rory MacDonald

Josh Koscheck VS the loser of Jake Ellenberger/Martin Kampmann

Alan Belcher VS the winner of Brian Stann/Hector Lombard

Lavar Johnson VS the winner of Mark Hunt/Stefan Struve

John Dodson VS Louis Gaudinot

UFC on Fox 3 Preview

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:43:32 GMT

By: Brandon Quillen (@SX_BWQ on Twitter)

Nate Diaz (15-7, 10 Subs) VS Jim Miller (21-3, 12 Subs) | Lightweight

Nate Diaz comes into this fight with a 5in. reach advantage, and if he can use his jab effectively that should be able to keep a smaller fighter away. Jim Miller isn’t just another fighter though; he’s one of the most well rounded lightweights in the world. Miller has great clinch striking, relentless takedowns, and his ground and pound might be the best at 155. Both are coming off of wins over top talent from Jackson’s MMA, with Diaz def. Cerrone and Miller def. Guillard.

Prediction: I think Miller wins this fight by virtue of having multiple strengths, Miller by decision in the Fight of the Night.

Josh Koscheck (17-5, 5 KOs) VS Johny Hendricks (12-1, 7 KOs) | Welterweight

Both of these fighters have exceptional wrestling, with neither really having an edge over the other anywhere. Koscheck will be looking for revenge for his longtime friend and training buddy Jon Fitch, Hendricks def. Fitch by KO just 12 seconds into their fight at UFC 141. Koscheck is coming off a decision victory over Mike Pyle in which he had to go back to wrestling roots to earn the “W.”

Prediction: I think whoever can get and sustain a takedown will win this fight, my gut feeling is to go with Koscheck as he is the more powerful of the two.

Rousimar Palhares (14-3, 10 Subs) VS Alan Belcher (17-6, 8 KOs) | Middleweight

If you could ever associate a submission to a certain fighter, then the heel hook would be Palhares having finished 6 fights by it. Palhares nickname of Toquinho is Portuguese for “little tree stump,” if you have ever seen Toquinho then you know why. However, Alan Belcher will be no cakewalk for the more talented Palhares. Belcher is known as the guy with the weird Johnny Cash tattoo but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to fight, having won 8 fights by knockout.

Prediction: I think Palhares’ BJJ is too tough for Belcher, with Palhares winning via his signature heel hook in the 2^nd rd.

Pat Barry (7-4, 6 KOs) VS Lavar Johnson (16-5, 14 KOs) | Heavyweight

With the retirement of Mirko Cro Cop, Pat Barry is now the top kickboxer in the heavyweight division. Barry is known for always providing a great show with his relentless striking and never back down attitude. Johnson is known for having some heavy hands. Both of these guys know how to finish fights as 22 of their 23 fights have ended via KO/Submission.

Prediction: I think this fight has 0% chance of going to the ground and with that I’m going to take Barry by 1^st rd KO on his way to Knockout of the Night honors.

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive:Alton Meeks

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:21:46 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

Playing on one of the more talented teams in Central Florida, Alton Meeks had already recieved interest from "Florida State,Auburn,Iowa,Duke,Iowa St., Michigan St.,NC State,Wake Forest,and Central Florida." Alton has added interest from "Temple,Florida International,West Virginia,Miami (FL),Florida,Ole Miss, and Minnesota" recently.

With so much talent surrounding him at Orlando's Boone HS, he's bound to take questions about some of his team mates. Two of his high profile team mates are A.J. Turman and Levonte Whitfield on the recruitment of A.J., Alton says "I'm not to sure, I don't think he has a clue where he wants to go." As for Levonte or "Kermit" as those close to him call him he says "I'm not to sure about Kermit either, but I know he has been up to FSU a few times. I sat with him,A.J., and Marvin at the Florida State vs. Miami game this past year."

Levonte is the cousin of Florida State signee Marvin Bracy which could work in the Seminoles favor come signing time.

As for Alton and his plans of getting back to Florida State he says "I am thinking about heading up this summer, most likely in July." The Seminoles have offered Alton, but he says it wasn't as a QB but as a "LB last summer, but if I want to play QB I will have to wait and see."

There is one game Alton says he is looking forward to as he said "I'm really looking forward and getting the opportunity to play Plant again, hopefully at Plant because it had to be the coolest place I have ever played." The reasoning Meeks wants another shot at Plant is "they're the state champs, and they're extremely cocky."

NFL Draft Winners and Losers

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:56:57 GMT

-Burke Garner

Even though noone will truly know who actually "won" or "lost" in this draft until the season is in progress it is still fun to predict who came out on top and some of those who fell flat on their face. A couple of winners that struck me eye from this weekend are as follows:

Cincinnati Bengals- Love the two first round picks of Alabama Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and Wisconsin O-Lineman Kevin Zeitler. Both are starters this season in my opinion. The Bengals got two top defensive line prospects on the second day in Devon Still and Brandon Thompson as well as a potential starting wide reciever in Mohamed Sanu. Every pick from rounds 4-6 were great value picks where the Bengals took them with many who were expected to go a couple rounds earlier. All in All another great class to add to a very young, talented squad.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- The Bucs got arguably the draft's hottest rising and talked about player in Alabama Safety Mark Barron, and then all of a sudden traded back into the 1st round to snag Boise State RB Doug Martin, who is very comparable to Ravens RB Ray Rice. After drafting those two stud prospects the Bucs went out and landed a top 5 linebacker in the second round by the name of Lavonte David who will immediately start. I felt like the Bucs left this weekend feeling very strong about this upcoming season especially after winning the Free Agency period as well.

Pittsburgh Steelers- Pitt needed O-line help. Bad. Everyone knew that, so what did they do? They drafted two of the top lineman in the entire draft with their top two picks in Stanford OL David Decastro and OHio St OL Mike Adams. I really loved their pick of Linebacker Sean Spence from "Tha U" also and dont forget the name Alameda Ta'amu, a massive Defensive Tackle from Washington who will eventually replace the aging Casey Hampton.

St Louis Rams- The Rams were patient in the draft and didnt panic at all and it paid off immensely. They got a Stud D tackle in Michael Brockers from LSU in the 1st round and with 3 2nd round picks they took advantage of them all by selecting several potential starters down the road in Appy State WR Brian Quick, North Alabama CB Janoris Jenkins and Cincy RB Isiah Pead. One more weapon they threw in for QB Sam Bradford was WR Chris Givens in the 4th round from Wake Forest, a very impressive college wideout.

And of course a few "Losers":

Seattle Seahawks- Linebacker Bruce Irvin in the 1st round?? Im not buying into that. They had much better prospects on the board at that time but they really dropped the ball there and I also thought they couldve gotten a bigger impact player in the 2nd round other than Linebacker Bobby Wagner from Utah State. The Seahawks just made you scratch your head and laugh all at the same time.

Cleveland Browns- Listen, I love the pick of Running Back Trent Richardson of Alabama. What I dont love? Trading up one spot and losing picks to draft a running back that most likely was there anyways and even if he wouldnt have been you have so many needs that WR Justin Blackmon was more than a blessing to have fall in your lap. I also hated taking a 28 almost 29 year old QB at 22nd in the draft when I thought he wouldve been there in the second round and you neglect taking a Wide reciever until the 4th round when its a huge need? Not to mention when you do take one its a small, scrawny guy in Travis Benjamin from "Tha U". Just a blah overall draft in my eyes.

Washington Redskins-

Dont freak out, Robert Griffin is a Stud and a helluva pick for the franchise. My problem is they didnt do enough after his pick to help him, the team, or this draft grade. I think the Redskins couldve used another RB and big, tall wide receiver but they didnt fulfill those needs. The other HUGE reason they drop to a Loser category this year was taking QB Kirk Cousins in the 4th round today. So RG3 is the Franchise Qb right? Then why take another QB in your first 3 picks? They couldve easily used that pick on a weapon for RG3.

Jordan Brand Classic 2012 International Game Rundown

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 02:51:16 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

The Jordan Brand Classic International Game featured some of the top 15 and 16 year olds around the world. But a couple players stood out above the rest. The White Team which got 21 points from Italian PG Federico Mussini and a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds from Lucas Silva Dias was down 12 points at the end of the 3rd quarter used a late rally to send the game into OT where they would walk away victorious.

Here's a rundown featuring some notes on the players involved in the International Game:

White

The White Team was coached by Herman Harried out of Baltimore (MD)'s Lake Clifton HS where he has coached the likes of former Kansas star Josh Selby.

Federico Mussini (5'11 141 lbs. ITALY) - Didn't flourish well early due to the pressure defense Blue Team PG Kevin Zabo was applying, but calmed down and seemed to flourish in transition later in the game. STATS: 21 pts,10-17 FG,4 rebs,4 ast,2 stls,8 TO's

Etienne Ory - Ory was joined by his club team mate in Cyrille Vanerot in the International Game. STATS: 4 pts,4 rebs,2-6 FG,4 ast,5 stls

Dimitrios Stamatis - Stamatis played for the U16 Greece National Team, and showed flashes of promise. STATS: 12 pts,4 rebs,5-12 FG,3 ast

Christopher Egi - Fun kid to watch, very athletic. Remember his name. Played for the U16 Canadian National Team with Cleveland State signee Junior Lomomba,Negus Webster-Chan who is signed with Missouri, and Olivier Hanlan who is headed to St. Louis. STATS:15 pts,8 rebs,7-13 FG

Lucas Silva Dias - Best player on the court, showed flashes of greatness. Could potentially become unstoppable if he grows and adds more weight to his frame. STATS: 18 pts,12 rebs,8-12 FG,3 ast,4 blks,2 stls.

Yang Jinmeng - Could be the next big thing from China, gets his team mates involved but maybe to unselfish. Shot the ball very well from deep. Played for Chinese U18 National Team. STATS: 13 pts,3 rebs,5-10 FG,2-4 3FG,6 ast,3 stls.

Jan Wimberg - Shot blocking showed his athleticism at 6'7. STATS: 2 pts,2 rebs,1-4 FG,3 blks.

Cyrille Vanerot - I hope to follow this young man, because I saw some things I liked out of him. Needs to play with high energy throughout the game. STATS: 4 pts,2 rebs,2-3 FG,2 blks, stl

Blue

Blue Team was coached by Kyle Manary from Houston (TX)'s Episcopal HS who is wrapping up a succesful 28-4 season.

Kevin Zabo - Playing at Montrose Christian Kevin is playing against top HS talent night in and night out. Pressured Federico Mussini early but the effectiveness wore down as the game went on. He's at his best when taking his man off the dribble and attacking the lane.

Jules Akodo - Plays profesionally on a team featuring Deon Thompson who played collegiately at North Carolina and Casey Mitchell who played at West Virginia. Couldn't really figure out rather he was a PG or a SG, may not translate well to NBA but has time to grow into one position or another. STATS: 8 pts,4 rebs,4-10 FG

Boubacar Moungoro - Hailing from Mali he's now playing for West Oaks Academy in Florida as a member of the 2014 class. He plays his summer ball with E1T1 where he is joined by the likes of Joel Berry,Kobie Eubanks, and Dakari Johnson. Boubacar got a lot of his points by getting offensive rebounds and going back up but he also made tons of hustle plays. STATS: 16 pts,9 rebs,7-21 FG,2 ast,3 stls,8 TO's

Domantas Sabonis - Domantas' father Arvydas played in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers. Unlike his father Domantas is not a 7-footer but rebounds very well for his frame and 6'7 height. One thing I noticed was that he disappeared at times. Is playing on the younger Unicaja Malaga team that features Gerald Fitch who played at Kentucky on the older team. STATS: 7 pts,8 rebs,2-7 FG,4 ast,blk,3 stls

Marko Arapovic - Great rebounder, when he and Sabonis was on the floor together it was tough to score on them. Played for the Croatian U16 team, and is on a team (Cibona) with former Kentucky player Antwain Barbour,former Michigan State Spartan Goran Suton,former UCONN star Khalid El-Amin, and former Morehead State star Demonte Harper. STATS: 17 pts,11 rebs,8-16 FG,blk,stl in 37 minutes of action.

Berk Ugurlu - Had a very quiet 14 points, honestly I didn't get anything from him. STATS: 14 pts,7 rebs,6-10 FG,stl

Eliel Gonzalez - Like Yang Jinmeng he gets everyone else involved, and may be a little to unselfish at times. Played for the Puerto Rican U16 National Team. STATS: 4 pts,6 rebs,2-8 FG,3 ast

Andrej Magdevski - Can really hit the 3, and can hit it under pressure as most of his 3's came late in the game. Played for the Macedonian U16 National Team. STATS: 9 pts,3 rebs,3-7 FG,3-3 3FG

Sports Xpress Recruiting Xclusive: Coreontae DeBerry

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:08:05 GMT

By:Kenneth True (@SXKennethTrue on Twitter)

The last time we spoke with Coreontae DeBerry he spoke very highly of Detroit, and now he is headed there. DeBerry says he chose the Titans because "I liked the way they do things there. I love the coaching, and the academic support is really good. I can see myself being successful there."

The 6'9 250 lbs. big man also spoke about the family like atmosphere at Detroit in saying "they're like my family and they care for me as a person and player. I think that tells it all."

DeBerry had some pretty impressive interest including "Xavier,Clemson,Marquette,Rhode Island,Central Michigan,Western Michigan,Cleveland State,DePaul, and Iowa."

Before he reaches the Detroit campus and puts on the #22 jersey Coreontae will do a year at a prep school.