Cagers ink four but not Parker

By Raphael Goodstein

Daily Sports Writer

For all of the bad things that have happened under Brian Ellerbe's watch, one good thing he's done is recruit good basketball players.

The Wolverines inked four highly touted recruits this past recruiting season, but more than who they signed, the Wolverines might regret the one they didn't sign.

Center Josh Moore, forward Bernard Robinson and guards Maurice Searight and Avery Queen will all be Wolverines this year.

Jason Parker will not.

The four incoming recruits give Michigan another well-regarded class - one Hoop Scoop recruiting analyst called it "close to the Top 10" - but Parker's signing with Kentucky will leave the Wolverines licking their wounds.

Parker is a top-10 recruit who originally signed to play with North Carolina last season. He did not have the grades to play and went to prep school at Fork Union Academy for a season.

Then North Carolina denied his application and did not admit him to the university.

His test scores were questioned when there was a 45 percent jump in his SAT score, and a similar jump in his ACT score. His original test score was not high enough to make him eligible for the upcoming season.

With his services up for grabs again, Parker cited Michigan as a possible destination. Michigan was a finalist for his services two years ago, and his friendship with sophomore forward LaVell Blanchard and coach Brian Ellerbe seemed to bode well for Michigan.

But when Kentucky's admission's department found a miscalculation in his GPA of core classes, he decided he wanted to thank the Wildcats for their hard work and head to Lexington.

Yet even without Parker's services, head coach Brian Ellerbe has managed to land his second straight highly regarded class.

Moore is the biggest cager Michigan has ever had, standing at 7-foot-2, and 350 pounds when he signed with Michigan. Since then, he has worked out with the football team and has slimmed down to under 300 pounds.

"It's pretty scary how good he can be," recruiting analyst Clark Francis said.

It appears that Moore will start as the team's center, moving seniore Josh Asselin to the starting power forward position.

"Moore better start," Francis said. "You sign a guy that fits your needs and then if you don't start him, you'll have recruiting problems in the future."

It looked like Brandon Smith would play power forward this year, but he decided to leave the program and play for San Diego State, where Ellerbe's predecessor Steve Fisher coaches. Smith appeared to be a leading candidate to be this year's captain.

Sophomore power forward Leland Anderson left the program as well. Ellerbe cited his desire to see more playing time as the reason for his departure. It is expected that the Attleboro, Mass. native will transfer to Providence.

Robinson will also see a lot of playing time this year in Michigan's front court. Robinson is left-handed and has one of the best short-jumpers of all this year's recruits.

Maurice Searight received the least publicity of Michigan's recruits, but may be most important. The guard will probably have to fill in for Kevin Gaines who was dismissed from the team yesterday after his arrest on DUI charges.

Queen is the shortest player to ever play for Michigan standing at 5-foot-3. Queen will wear No. 1 this year, the number the departed Jamal Crawford wore last year.

Queen is eligible, but his involvement in the Gaines incident could be a violation of his probation.

Greener pastures: Aside from adding four new recruits to this year's team, Ellerbe also added another assistant coach, Terrence Greene.

Greene will replace Lorenzo Neely, who is now an assistant coach at Western Michigan.

Greene should give Michigan a presence in the Flint area, a hotbed for basketball talent. Greene is a Flint native and should counter Michigan State's stronghold on the area. The Spartans milked Flint for four players, called the Flintstones, who returned Michigan State to the nation's elite. Three of those players won a national title last year.

No Gaines

2001 basketball schedule

This year's basketball schedule will be one of the nation's toughest.

Home games in BOLD

Nov. 7 Gr. Rapids Hoops 7 p.m.

Nov. 13 Wayne State 7 p.m.

Nov. 17 Oakland 7 p.m.

Nov. 21 W. Michigan 7 p.m.

Nov. 25 Wagner 2 p.m.

Nov. 28 Wake Forest 7 p.m.

*Dec. 2 Maryland TBD

*Dec. 3 St.John's/ TBD

Geo. Washington

Dec. 9 Duke 9 p.m.

Dec. 13 Bowling Green 7 p.m.

Dec. 23 Morris Brown Noon

Dec. 27 Towson 7 p.m.

Dec. 30 E. Michigan 2 p.m.

Jan. 3 Purdue 8 p.m.

Jan. 9 Indiana 7 p.m.

Jan. 13 Illinois 7 p.m.

Jan. 18 Ohio St. 7 p.m.

Jan. 20 Iowa 7 p.m.

Jan. 25 Illinois 7 p.m.

Jan. 27 Northwestern 7 p.m.

Jan. 30 Michigan St. 7 p.m.

Feb. 3 Wisconsin Noon

Feb. 7 Penn St. 8 p.m.

Feb. 11 Indiana 1 p.m.

Feb. 14 Iowa 8 p.m.

Feb. 17 Minnesota Noon

Feb. 24 Purdue 3 p.m.

Feb. 28 Northwestern 8 p.m.

Mar. 3/4 Michigan St. TBD

Big Ten Tournament - Chicago, Ill.

Mar. 8 First Round TBD

Mar. 9 Quarterfinals TBD

Mar. 10 Semifinals 1:30 p.m.

Mar. 11 Championship 2:30 p.m.

*at BB&T Classic (MCI Center, Washington D.C.)