Skinny: No. 4 Montverde (Fla.)

Academy travels to Benedictine (Richmond, Va.) for the Warren Rutledge Classic

Saturday at 7:30 ET. The game will

be played at Memorial Gymnasium's 'Rut Court,' which is named after

Benedictine's legendary Coach Rutledge, who won a Virginia record 949 games

from 1957-2000. In fact, it has

earned the reputation on the prep level to that of Duke University's Cameron

Indoor Stadium. The rowdy student

section of the Catholic all-male military school fuels the charm of the seasoned

1,850-seat facility built in 1950. But

that shouldn't phase Montverde, considering they've defeated 17 teams who

have been ranked at one time or another during the course of this season.

Prospects: For Montverde, who

comes in with an undefeated record, they have several prospects, but two might

be a cut above the rest. Seven-foot-1,

230-pound Nigerian-born senior center Solomon

Alabi (Florida State - pictured left) checks in 20^th overall

nationally in the Class of 2007 rankings by Rivals.com and for good reason.

Alabi (17PPG), "has matured," according to Head Coach Kevin

Sutton since last season when he averaged 8.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per

game. The McDonald's All-American

candidate is a dominant, mobile swatter on the defensive end, but offensively

can beat you with the hook shot. Given

his size and excellent wingspan, he's almost an impossible cover for anyone

when he's red hot. Alabi was named

MVP of the Montverde Invitational as the Eagles beat Montrose from Rockville, MD

62-47 thanks to his 17 points - 12 of which came in the fourth quarter alone.

Joining him is 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard Gary

Clark, who originally committed to Florida, has re-opened his recruitment

and averages 14PPG. Named MVP of the

Junior Orange Bowl Tournament, he is a streaky shooter that has the ability to

create and attack the hoop off the bounce as well.

Clark quite possibly is the best unsigned shooting guard prospect from

the Class of 2007.

Benedictine

is led by transfer normal">Ed Davis, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound junior who's ranked 8^th

in the country in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com.

Davis (pictured-right), the son of Terry Davis, an NBA player for ten

seasons, averaged 22PPG last year as a sophomore.

The 5-star prospect is an outstanding dunker, has great length, is

improving as a rebounder and many consider to be one of the most effective shot

blockers at this level. He can score

in many different ways, whether it's in the low post, from the mid-range area

or attack the glass on offensive putbacks. Schools

that have offered him include Clemson, Virginia and Virginia Tech, but numerous

others, such as Connecticut, Georgetown, North Carolina and NC State, are very

interested in the power forward prospect with great upside.

Potentially, Davis could be better than his father.

"Ed Davis is an outstanding player," says Sutton, "[but] we're

not going to do anything special." If

Benedictine wins, it'll likely be because Davis had a monster game on both

ends of the floor taking over in crunch time.

Notes: When Sutton came to

Montverde, he took over a team that went 0-21 in 2002.

The attitude has changed, bringing better results.

"This particular team has bought in from day one and gelled," he

declares. Overall, eight of

Sutton's 13 players are from outside the United States – five of them coming

from Africa. Safe to say, they've

brought in the International flavor. Montverde

is producing more and more college prospects by the day now.

Ex-Wake Forest player Randolph Childress was one of the guys Montverde

produced. They've produced guys as

far west as current UCLA big man Luc Richard Mbah Moute, as far east as current

Demon Deacon L.D. Williams, and as far north as Idong Ibok (Michigan State).

Under Bruce Croxton, the Cadets were a perennial force and produced

Patrick Beilein, the son of West Virginia Head Coach John Beilein.

As of right now, perhaps their most notable current college player that

attended Benedictine would be Vernon Hamilton, the starting point guard for the

Clemson Tigers.

It Down: When asked if this was

the best High School Basketball team he has coached in his 21-plus years of

coaching, Sutton, a former assistant coach under Jeff Capel for two years at Old

Dominion University, couldn't help himself but to say "yes."

And why not? They're

holding opponent under 30 points per game, and that defense has turned into

offense. "We generate a lot of

points off of our defense," he notes. In

addition to the 31 points Alabi and Clark combine for, junior point guard Dashan

Harris averages 11PPG, and off the bench forward Martez

Walker gives them 10PPG. Originally

a Louisville commitment before re-opening his recruitment, Walker has drawn

interest from the likes of Texas, Alabama and UCLA.

As a freshman, Walker averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists

and two steals per game. Now, the

6-foot-7 lefty fits in as a perfect role player with the ability to go baseline

and pursue the rim. Rounding out the

rotation, Jean

Michael Yotio, a 6-foot-9 forward from the

Ivory Coast, is set for Central Florida; Femi

Akinpetide comes from Australia; Joseph

Katuka from Nigeria gives them

even more size at 6-foot-11. They

play ten guys regularly and do a great job of getting everybody involved.

"The strength of our team is our balance and depth," believes Sutton.

Bendictine currently resembles a Warren Rutledge type of team.

For Benedictine, they're going to need their reserves and supporting

cast around Davis to step up and elevate their game to another.

Senior forward normal">Kevin Estes scored 14 points for the Cadets as they downed Blue

Ridge, 52-47 last Saturday. Fellow

seniors Joey Cantafio, Liki

Turner and normal">Daniel Heppert all were around when Montverde beat Benedictine two

years ago in a tournament. That team

was without Davis, however, and they're more experienced as every single

player on their roster is a senior or junior.

Being at home, in front of a "raucous crowd," as Sutton put it, also

helps. A possible x-factor for the

Cadets could be 6-foot-4 junior forward Bradford

Burgess, an ideal sixth man that transferred over from Manchester.

Another newcomer that they like for depth purposes is Wayne

Whiting, a 6-foot-7 junior forward that'll spell Burgess and Estes.

***

Be sure to check back later this week for Profiles of Montverde Academy's Gary

Clark, and on the Eastern Region side, Salem's Richard Barbee! ***