As you know through our polls we at Basketball Spotlight like to have the fan input. We decided to take it to another level. We have developed the Melton’s Mailbag. The Melton Mailbag will contain 4 questions from you the fans that we will post and answer on our page. We will pick the four questions we feel are the best.
William From NJ:Mike what do you think about the new grade exception rule?
MM: William I was totally caught by surprise. When I heard it was a new rule about grade exception initially I thought they did away with the rule all together. I think it will be totally unfair for most of the players that are the regular age/grade kids. So a player that’s actually 12 and in the 6th Grade will have to be phenomenal to standout on the Div. 1 level. There are more in depth conversations on this topic on our message board.
Stacy From Landover, MD:Mike, I love the site but what happened to the rankings of the young players (5th, 6th and 7th Graders)?
MM: Well Stacy after talking it over with my staff we decided against rankings the players before reaching high school. We try to be precise as possible in terms of rankings players. Therefore we feel after completing their 8th Grade year we will have a better read of their ability and potential. There’s nothing worse than ranking a player #5 in the country as a rising 8th Grader. Then when he reaches 10th Grade Rivals or ESPN has him ranked #250. This makes the player seem like he fell off and the evaluator look foolish.
Chad From Bronx, NY:Mike who is the top point guard of the Class of 2015 in the region?
MM: It’s a little early right now especially with the new rule in place because I don’t know everyone that has reclassified. But right now you have to look at Marcus Floyd from Delaware, Sam Foreman from Philly, Malik Ellison from S. Jersey, Otis Livingston from N. Jersey and Chris Atkinson from NYC. But remember it’s early and others will emerge.
Tim From Texas:Mike it seems like the All Star Camps have lost their luster?
MM: I can see your point Tim but the reality is that it was a good gimmick early on because grammar school players weren’t receiving media coverage. Therefore parents felt that had to attend these camps to get seen. Now with young player websites popping up weekly and the bad economy parents are looking for other outlets. Some parents feel that if their child already has a national name on a website there’s no need for me to travel across the country for a camp.
