The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A NUMBER of high school seniors are poised to chase lofty expectations, drawing comparisons to an historic group of players from the 1970s.

Based out of Houston, Texas, a quintet of high school stars on the basketball hardwood will make the transition to DI Universities this fall.

Shaquille Cleare, Wannah Bail, Michael Carey, Danrad Knowles, Tristen Curtis and Kendal Deveaux compromise the largest group of basketball players from one area to receive top flight basketball scholarships since the early 1970s.

The Bahamian quartet of Cecil Rose, Osborne Lockhart, Charles Thompson and Mychal Thompson led one of the greatest teams in American high school basketball history at Miami Jackson High.

The "Miami Jackson 5" produced multiple professional players, including Thompson, who became the first foreign born player taken with the No.1 overall pick in the NBA draft when the Portland Trailblazers selected him in 1978.

In this current group, Cleare - a 6'9 power forward - is headed to play in the ACC for the University of Maryland Terrapins.

The Andros native is a four-star prospect and ranked 37 among centers, according to ESPN.com.

Knowles, a versatile 6'10 frontcourt player, signed with the University of Houston Cougars. He joins current Cougar and fellow Bahamain Mikhail McLean who redshirted last year after a season-ending knee injury.

Kendal Deveaux, a 6'8" power forward, and Tristen Curtis, a 6'8" small forward, both signed with Coastal Carolina University.

Bail and Carey - blue chip prospects on the high school basketball scene in Houston, Texas, for the past few years - signed with Texas Tech University.

Bail, considered one of the top players at the forward position in the class of 2012, has been sought after by a virtual who's who list of NCAA basketball teams.

At 6'8", he is ranked 89 out of a possible 100 points, 35th amongst players at the position and 22nd overall in the state of Texas.

Carey, a 6'5" combo guard, is ranked 88 out of a possible 100 points, 52nd among shooting guards.

Several of the athletes were at one point members of the Frank Rutherford Elite Development Programme based in Houston.

"It is important for us, especially as Bahamians, to appreciate the work that has been done by these student athletes ," Rutherford said in a press release. "It needs to be understood that there are only 400 Division I basketball programmes in America and every year there are three scholarships available in these programmes.

"Hence, there are only 1,200 Division I scholarships to be given each year. There are over two million high school students competing for these 1,200 scholarships, that means that less than 0.5 per cent of those competing will get those scholarships."

Other noted alumni of the programme include Devard and Devaughn Darling, Ian Symonette, Dwight Miller, Enrico Forbes, Waltia Rolle, Mikhail McLean, Probese Leo, Alex Cooper and others.