Sunday, September 19, 1999 He had a bad summer, but when it is all said and done the player with the most talent and the most potential in the Class of 2000 is 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL. If you're an NBA General Manager, he's the guy in this class that you'll wish you had in five years or 10 years. Don't believe it? Well, just ask 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who is ranked as the #1 senior in America by a lot of people, including the HOOP SCOOP. We did ask Griffin right after Miles broke the tournament scoring record with 41 points in their head-to-head matchup in the semi-finals of the Five Star Hoop Classic at the College of Staten Island in Staten Island, NY. Griffin told us that Miles was the best player he's ever played against. He also thinks Miles is ready for the NBA right now. Miles, who also had 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and four blocks while matched up against Griffin, needs to add strength and bulk and develop more consistency, but there is no question that he's an amazing talent. But what makes Miles so special are his incredible quickness and ability to cover so much ground so fast. He's so explosive going to the hole that he reminds us of lightning. Then the thunder comes when he gets one of his numerous slam dunks. He also had four 3-pointers in the semi-finals against Griffin and he had several more in the championship game. He also does everything else, including pass and block shots. As a matter of fact, he's such a great shot blocker that he has a chance to block any shot at any time. 6'2 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL found that out several times in the championship game when he penetrated against Miles and ended up eating leather. However, the biggest reason why Miles was such a dominant force was that he did something he failed to do all summer. Play hard! The Bronx Gauchos upset New York Riverside Church by 25 points in the semi-finals and beat the Illinois Warriors in the championship game, 71-63, but Miles was still named the MVP of the tournament. Another player who took his game to another level at the Five-Star Hoops Classic was 6'1 Jake Sullivan from Oakdale (Tartan) MN, who was the leading scorer in the tournament with 24.5 ppg. Sullivan, frequently is compared to former Michigan State All-America Scott Skiles, and just like Skiles, he's a relentless competitor who dives for loose balls and always to overachieve. He's also a winner and he was a big reason why Howard Pulley has emerged into one of the premier club teams in the nation the last two years. Other awards went to Griffin, who was named the Best Defender; 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who was named the Best Playmaker; 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who was the named the Best Rebounder; 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, who won the award for Sportmanship; 6'3 Sheiku Kabba from Bronx (Regional) NY, who won the Mr Hustle Award; and 6'5 Dwayne Wade from Peoria (Richards) IL, who was given a special award - Mr. Courage - because he was the runnerup for both Mr Hustle and Best Defender, he was the leading scorer in the championship game with 24 ppg, and he was one of the biggest surprises in the tournament. So was Kabba, who outplayed Cook in the semi-finals. However, Kabba, who currently is in his 6th year of high school, still needs several credits to graduate. As a result, junior college or the playgrounds at someplace like New York's famous Rucker Park maybe Kabba's future.