SCHOLASTIC DAYZ Part 4....Circa 2002...TEAM BIG D...FABULOUS DUOS and 6 Total Consensus Top 50 Players.....Dallas LINCOLN, The COLONY, CEDAR HILL, and Carrollton NEWMAN-SMITH

The Class of 2002 High School Boys Basketball in the City of Dallas still may be one of the Best Ever in the State of Texas. A consensus Top 5 Nationally, 3 Quarter Pounders, and a Total of 6 Consensus Top 50 Players in the Nation. The ironic thing about the Six is that #1, #5, and #6 are still in the Logo with Two Current Olympians (One Olympian not on the 2012 Team in London due to Injury).

When the Bluedude worked in Dallas I saw all Six play often and you could see the Talent that was on Display on a Nightly Basis as these Players just had it.  There was former Ramblin Wreck' Lead Man Paul Hewitt got the #1 , Mike Davis of then IU Bloomington Hoosiers got the #2, Tommy Amaker of them the Maize & Blue got the #3, Local University SMU got the #4, Huggy Bear of then Cincinnati Bob Huggins got the #5, and Bill Self of them the Fightin' Illini of Illinois got the #6 player. Do I need to explain any more on the Talent Level of these young men.

The #1 Player of the Class of 2002 and led Dallas Lincoln High School to the Texas 5-A State Championship was 6-10 current Miami Heat All-Star Chris Bosh. A National Honor Society Member and 2002 Mc Donald's All-American...Bosh led Lincoln in the State Championship Game over the Top Player in Texas in the Class of 2003 and current Thunder Alley Center Kendrick Perkins of Beaumont, Texas Clifton J. Ozen HS. Bosh destroyed him but had help on his own from Teammate and Consensus Top 25 Player in the USA 5-11 Bryan Hopkins.

I you ask the Bluedude Hopkins, known in South Dallas as B-Hop (the #4 Player who went to SMU) , was the best Guard in Texas and in Dallas and that includes Players #2 and #3. A Pigeoned Toed Jumping Jack with a Nasty Crossover Dribble and Mid Game with such Explosion. The Only reason he stayed Home and went to SMU his Mother was Ill and needed Family and Medical Attention around the Clock. Everyone in the South was after B-Hop and without Him Lincoln doesn't go 36-0 in 2011-02 Season.

The #2 and #6 Players were the Other Duo outside of Bosh and Hopkins and #6 I knew would be a better player than #2 down the Line. The Players in Question...The Colony, Texas HS Back Court of of 2002 Quarter Pounder and Sniper #2 Bracey Wright  (who attended Mike Davis and Indiana University Hoosiers) and #6 Deron Williams (who signed with Bill Self, now Lead Man with KU JayHawks, and Illinois) of yes Team USA in London going for the Gold and the Barclays of Brooklyn Point God.

Wright and Williams dominated the Area but just couldn't get past the all those talented Teams in Dallas. Wright was the arguably Best Shooter in the Nation in 2001-02 but struggled a little off the Bounce. D-Will on the other hand was a Complete Guard and was a little Stocky but could handle, Shoot, see the Floor, and was a Smooth Floor Leader with a High Basketball IQ. I knew seeing Both for the 2st Time D-Will's Shelf was Higher because of his Complete Game and now look. Bracey played descent at IU Bloomington and D-Will is Junior Year led the Fightin' Illini to the national Championship Game in 2005 as they lost to the Ray Felton and Sean May led Tar Heels.

The #3 Player was Combo G and Michigan Wolverine Signee Daniel Horton of Cedar Hill, Texas HS. A Combo G but was a One-Man Show and with the Talent in Big D in 2001-02 and the Extreme Talent in South Dallas Horton didn't have a prayer. He was a Smooth-Shooting and Ball-Handling Combo that had a High IQ that fit the Mold of a Tommy Amaker Type Player. He was also a 2002 Quarter Pounder along with Bosh and Wright.

The last player on the Board and the #5 Player is a Bob Huggins Type of Player and that is why he attended Cincinnati. 6-7 PF Jason Maxiell, currently of the Detroit Pistons, was the Blue-Collar Worker of the Class. An Athlete in the Mold of former Cincy Bearcat Danny Fortson...Max as they called him in Big D was a Athletic and Rugged PF that could Finish, Play above the Rim, and relentless on the Glass. He couldn't get by the Wright and Williams led Colony Tex HS Teams in that Area of Dallas.

There they are the 2002 Class of Dallas, Texas in Boy's High School Basketball that will be remembered forever as Bosh and D-Will still have that Candle lit as does Max.