Gary Parrish

Justin Young of the National Hoops Report is in the process of unveiling is updated Class of 2010 rankings.

Thus far, he's counted down from No. 25 to No. 6.

That means the top five remain.

And t's clear, by proces of elimination, that the top five (in some order) will be Harrison Barnes, Perry Jones, Brandon Knight, Fab Melo and Jared Sullinger. Of that group, three (Barnes, Knight and Melo) remain uncommitted. Jones is committed to Baylor. Sullinger is committed to Ohio State.

The following is how Young ranked No. 6 through No. 25:

6. Will Barton (committed to Memphis )
7. Reggie Bullock (committed to North Carolina )
8. Adreian Payne
9. Joe Jackson
10. Tony Mitchell
11. Tobias Harris
12. Jelan Kendrick
13. Kyrie Irving
14. Dwight Powell
15. Tristan Thompson (committed to Texas )
16. Deshaun Thomas (committed to Ohio State )
17. Doron Lamb
18. Dion Waiters (committed to Syracuse )
19. Josh Selby
20. Patric Young (committed to Florida )
21. Cameron Clark
22. Kendall Marshall (committed to North Carolina )
23. Terrence Jones
24. Keala King
25. Justin Coleman

The biggest mover on that list is Joe Jackson -- the tiny and explosive point guard from Memphis.

Jackson led the Memphis Magic Elite to the adidas Super 64 title last week in Las Vegas.

He jumped from No. 21 to No. 9 in Young's Class of 2010 rankings.

I'm not sure if it's appropriate or classy.

But it's funny!

So click this link and checkout The Sporting Blog's take on my column about the prospect who has been offered a scholarship by Saint Louis despite the fact that he's still facing two felony charges for his role as the would-be getaway driver in a bank robbery. Nice GIF. Much appreciated.

The Memphis Magic Elite won the adidas Super 64 on Sunday.

They beat the New England Playaz in the title game.

The Memphis team consists of multiple high-major prospects -- most notably Joe Jackson (ranked 17th in the Class of 2010), Tarik Black (ranked 57th in the Class of 2010) and Adonis Thomas (ranked 15th in the Class of 2011). Another is Chris Crawford, who is unranked nationally. But Crawford won the adidas Super 64 with a floater at the buzzer, and he'll now watch as offers from area schools come rolling in thanks to a strong effort in Las Vegas.

As for Jackson, he only enhanced his status with his play.

The 5-foot-11 point guard showed a unique ability to get to the rim and run a team en route to taking MVP honors, and he won multiple games with clutch plays down the stretch. The reward should be a rise in his national ranking heading into his senior year at White Station High. In fact, I won't be surprised if Jackson is ultimately considered the best true point guard in the nation not named Brandon Knight.

LAS VEGAS -- Clearly, I jinxed them.

That's the only explanation for Grassroots Canada's 70-69 loss to New Heights NYC in the Sweet 16 of the adidas Super 64 tournament at Rancho High here in Las Vegas. Jayvaughn Pinkston led New Heights NYC with 19 points. It was an effort that will prevent Grassroots Canada from repeating as champions of the adidas Super 64, and I hope you didn't pay too much attention to that column I wrote Friday.

Anyway, the Elite Eight is now set.

If you care, the matchups are:

• New Heights NYC vs. Minnesota Pump N Run
• New England Playaz vs. Compton Magic Black
• DC Assault Gold vs. Nashville Celtics
• Memphis Magic Elite vs. Atlanta Celtics J-Smoove

The Elite Eight, Final Four and Championship Game will take place Sunday.

LAS VEGAS -- I broke away from the 17-and-under events late Thursday to go see some younger prospects.

Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo apparently had the same idea -- because both were at the Tarkanian Basketball Academy evaluating Class of 2011 prospects while the majority of other high-major coaches remained focused on the Class of 2010 at various facilities around town. To put this into context, you must understand that nearly every relevant 17-and-under game here in Las Vegas is attended by five or more college head coaches, and in some cases there could be 10 or 15 watching the same court. But at this 16-and-under event on this night there were four games simultaneously being played under the same roof, and the only head coaches I saw in the building were two of the biggest names in the sport.

Their presence created quite a buzz.

Krzyzewski was watching a team from Indiana led by Class of 2011 standouts Cody Zeller and Marshall Plumlee, and if those names sound familiar, they should. Zeller is the younger brother of Luke Zeller (played at Notre Dame) and Tyler Zeller (plays at North Carolina); Plumlee is the younger brother of Miles and Mason Plumlee, both of whom play at Duke. As for Izzo, he was sitting in the front row with assistant Mark Montgomery watching a team from Michigan featuring Trey McDonald, a 6-foot-9 forward in the Class of 2011.

It should be noted that Duke and Michigan State both already have three commitments from the Class of 2010.

In other words, Krzyzewski and Izzo can afford to look ahead.

LAS VEGAS -- Whether I was at the Villa 7 Consortium at the Venetian on Tuesday night or a gym around town this morning, pretty much all any coach wants to talk about is Josh Selby's decommitment from Tennessee and the circumstances surrounding it. As I reported Sunday , Selby ended a 10-month commitment to the Vols this weekend -- less than two weeks after attending the Nike-funded LeBron James Skills Academy and King City Classic, where his mother told me she met with basketball powerbroker William Wesley .

As you probably know, Wesley -- more commonly referred to as "Worldwide Wes" or "Fresh Wes" or simply "Wes" -- has long been unofficially tied to Nike Basketball and certain prospects, most notably Dajuan Wagner, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, all of whom played for John Calipari at Memphis.

Now Calipari is at Kentucky.

And industry sources believe UK is the new leader for Selby.

And, well, you know.

"That kid was committed to Tennessee for almost a year, then he goes to a Nike event, the mom talks with Wes, the kid decommits from an 'Adidas' school, and now he's looking at Kentucky," said one high-major coach, noting the timeline of the developments as well as UT's apparel contract with Adidas. "Come on, man. That's messed up. I mean, that's just messed up."

It's funny.

Bruce Pearl has spent his four years at Tennessee rubbing a good portion of the coaching community the wrong way, and yet across the board people appear sympathetic toward him and the rest of UT 's staff in light of Selby's decommitment. Regardless of what's real and what isn't, seemingly everybody in the coaching profession believes Wesley influenced Selby's decision, and Selby's mother publicly acknowledging she met with Wesley before her son decommitted has only enhanced that perception.

Either way, it's the talk of Vegas, I assure you.

And it'll be interesting to see which coaches are at El Dorado High today at 5:20 p.m. ET when Selby plays his opening game with the Baltimore Assault in the Adidas Super 64. I'm unfamiliar with the Assault's roster and the team they're playing (Team Credo). But one college coach told me Selby will be the only high-major prospect on the court, meaning any high-major coach in the building will be in the building to see Selby.

I'll let you know what I see when I see it.

I'm traveling to Las Vegas today for the restart of the July recruiting period.

There are four big tournaments this week (at various sites around the area) featuring nearly every relevant high school prospect ... except for the best two from the Class of 2010. As I reported last week, Harrison Barnes (ranked No. 1 by Scout.com and No. 2 by Rivals.com) is skipping Las Vegas to rest for next month's Nike Global Challenge. Meantime, Brandon Knight (ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com and No. 2 by Scout.com) is out because of a broken bone in his foot suffered last week at the Nike Peach Jam tournament.

So no, it's not perfect.

But Las Vegas is still the place to be this week.

Consider:

• On Tuesday , the annual Villa 7 Consortium -- an invitation-only event designed to help some of the nation's best assistants network and share ideas with athletic directors, head coaches and each other -- is at the Venetian Hotel and Casino. Only 50 assistants were invited. Among the head coaches scheduled to speak are John Calipari (Kentucky), Lon Kruger (UNLV), Dana Altman (Creighton), Ken McDonald (Western Kentucky), Gene Cross (Toledo), Mark Phelps (Drake), Shaka Smart (VCU) and Matt Matheny (Elon). Meanwhile, the GBOA (Grassroots Basketball of America) is presenting Sonny Vaccaro with its Grassroots Pioneer Award. That ceremony is at the Palms Resort and Casino.
• On Wednesday , four major summer tournaments tip-off as college coaches begin a 10-day period of evaluation. The four tournaments are the Adidas Super 64, the Reebok Summer Championships, the Main Event and the Center Stage. Practically every college head coach and assistant will make an appearance at one time or another. Those who don't will be in Orlando for various AAU events. Many will be in Las Vegas and Orlando at different times.
• On Thursday , USA Basketball begins a three-day minicamp at Valley High School featuring 23 of the NBA's best young talents. Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin are among those scheduled to participate. The minicamp will conclude Saturday night with an intrasquad game at the Thomas & Mack Center.

All Ohio Red won the Nike Peach Jam with a 62-53 victory over Team Final late Wednesday.

Class of 2010 star Jared Sullinger -- the subject of a recent column -- got 19 points and 21 rebounds in the win.

Class of 2011 star Michael Gilchrist  -- the subject of a recent column -- got 19 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- As expected , it'll be All Ohio Red vs. Team Final in tonight's Nike Peach Jam title game.

Meanwhile, I'm headed home.

Flying out of Atlanta.

And it appears most of the college coaches are too, because the only high-major head coaches at this morning's semifinals were Florida's Billy Donovan, Alabama's Anthony Grant and USC's Kevin O'Neil. Nearly everybody else is already off the road because today is the last day of the first evaluation period in July, and only a handful of prospects are still competing in an event.

The second evaluation period begins next Wednesday and runs through July 31.

The major events of the second period are in Las Vegas and Orlando.

I'll be in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.

But till then, I'll be home.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- It's the last day of games here at the Nike Peach Jam.

The highlight is a possible championship matchup between All Ohio Red and Team Final that would put three of the nation's top bigmen on display -- namely All Ohio Red's Jared Sullinger (ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2010 by Scout.com), All Ohio Red's Adreian Payne (ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2010 by Scout.com) and Team Final's Rakeem Christmas (ranked No. 5 in the Class of 2011 by Scout.com). For what it's worth, I've seen Christmas play four or five times this week, and I won't be surprised if he finishes the summer ranked second in the Class of 2011, right behind Team Final teammate Michael Gilchrist (the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2011).

Why?

Because Christmas is a 6-foot-8 center who runs brilliantly and blocks everything.

Great instincts.

Strong rebounder.

Unless he endures injuries or off-the-court problems, he'll be a rich man someday, guaranteed.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- The summer basketball career of Harrison Barnes came to a close Tuesday morning.

His team from Minnesota lost to a team from Maryland in their final game of pool play.

They finished 2-3 in this Nike Peach Jam.

"And 2-3 won't get you anywhere," said Shirley Barnes, the mother of Scout.com's No. 1 player and quite possibly the neatest mother of any No. 1 player I've ever met. She works in the music department at Iowa State, is full of smiles and laughs and conversation. After spending 30 minutes with her this afternoon, it's clear she's the reason college coaches are in love with her son, both on and off the court.

Seriously, she's just a joy of a woman.

Coaches are going to have a blast when the in-home visits begin.

As for Barnes the player, he's opting not to compete in Las Vegas next week, meaning his summer basketball career is done. The 6-foot-8 wing has gone from an unknown talent in Iowa to the nation's most celebrated prospect in a matter of two years, but his recruitment is far from over with Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, Florida and Iowa State -- plus several others -- all still battling for his services. Ideally, Shirley Barnes said her son would like to sign in the early period in November. But the problem with that plan is that Harrison Barnes doesn't want to take his five official visits during football season because, well, he's not going to be a football player.

"He's not going to college to play football; he's going to college to play basketball," Shirley Barnes said. "So he doesn't need to see all the glory (of a football atmosphere in the fall). He wants to visit during basketball season, go to a basketball game, watch the coach interact with the players, that kind of stuff. So I'm not sure what he's going to do."

Neither is anybody else, it seems.

But rest assured, the best programs in America are anxious to find out.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- When Brandon Knight limped out of the Riverview Park Activities Center here Sunday night, the thought from his camp was that his right foot was merely sprained. But that was wishful thinking, apparently, because it's now believed that Knight instead fractured a bone that has prematurely ended his summer.

"He's done," said one high-major assistant who is recruiting Knight.

And so just like that, the point guard from Florida whom Rivals.com ranks as the top overall prospect in the Class of 2010 is on the shelf for the rest of July barring some miracle recovery. He won't play anymore here at the Nike Peach Jam. He won't play in Las Vegas next week. And though it won't affect his recruitment -- Florida, Kentucky, Duke and every other school in America would die to sign Knight even if they never see him again -- what it will likely do is ensure that Harrison Barnes or Jared Sullinger finishes the summer as the nation's top-ranked prospect.

Does that matter?

In the grand scheme of things, of course not.

But you'd be surprised how much prospects care about such rankings.

So I'm sure Knight hates having his summer end this way ... on crutches as a spectator.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- The Nike Peach Jam is living up to its reputation as the best summer basketball tournament for high school prospects thanks to four games going on at all times under one roof. I could list all the coaches here watching, but that would be pointless, because they are pretty much all here save Tennessee's Bruce Pearl, who is in Israel coaching the United States in the 18th Maccabiah Games.

(Pearl was featured in the Jerusalem Post this week, by the way.)

Anyway, the scene is pretty typical -- a bunch of coaches walking around in shorts and shirts representing their schools. Jeff Capel has an Oklahoma logo, Sean Miller has an Arizona logo, Bob Huggins has a West Virginia logo. And then there's Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who opened the event in a Team USA shirt because, presumably, it's never a bad idea to remind recruits that you are the man who could someday help them play in the Olympics. Or not.

As for actual news, the big story (relatively speaking, of course) is that the consensus top two players in the Class of 2010 -- Harrison Barnes and Brandon Knight -- have both suffered injuries. Barnes cut his non-shooting hand and had to get stitches while Knight came down on somebody's foot and suffered what appeared to be a sprained foot.

Barnes is expected to play today.

Knight is not.

CLEVELAND -- One of the things I gathered from my three days at the LeBron James Skills Academy and King City Classic is that Class of 2011 star Michael Gilchrist doesn't appear to be getting the kind of attention from college coaches that's typical of a top-ranked prospect.

The reason is simple: Everybody thinks he's a lock for Kentucky.

"I should be fired if I waste one cent recruiting that kid," said one high-major coach who apparently knows his boundaries. "[Gilchrist] is going to play for [John Calipari]. It's done. Trust me. He's playing for Cal. If you recruit him, you're wasting your time."

This perception is based on Gilchrist's relationship with Calipari confidant and basketball powerbroker William Wesley , plus a newspaper article two summers ago that quoted Gilchrist talking about how he planned to play for Calipari. Far as anybody can tell, nothing has changed even though Gilchrist has never publicly committed in a traditional way to Calipari at Memphis or Calipari at Kentucky, and that's why Gilchrist's phone isn't constantly bombarded by most of the elite programs.

It's not because he isn't talented enough.

Or smart enough.

Or good enough on a personal level.

He is all of those things, and I can't imagine there's a single school that wouldn't love Michael Gilchrist on its roster. It's just that coaches are hesitant to invest time and money into recruiting the gifted wing only to watch him sign with Kentucky in November 2010. That's the dilemma. But it should be noted that Gilchrist, his family and his high school coach are making an effort to convince schools that Gilchrist is open to being recruited by anybody and everybody. Whether it works remains to be seen.

"You talk to his mom, talk to him, they both tell me he's not automatically going to Kentucky," said Kevin Boyle, who coaches Gilchrist at St. Patrick's High in New Jersey.  "They say there is no guarantee that he's going to Kentucky, that he's pretty wide-open. So the mom is putting that out there, and I'm putting that out there, and hopefully more people will respond ... because he probably hasn't gotten a number of phone calls that you'd expect for a guy of his level."

... "LeBron James gets dunked on video" is now ranked 24th among "hot trends" at Google.

("Babies on skates" is No. 1 and "Sahel Kazemi DUI video" is No. 13. So if I could somehow get LeBron to drink and drive, then get pulled over and perform a sobriety test on skates while Xavier's Jordan Crawford, dressed in a police uniform, dunks on him, we might set the World Wide Web on fire. Give me till the end of the week. I'm working on it.)

Seriously, this thing is bananas.

And at this point it's almost better if we never see the video, isn't it?

I mean, there's no way the dunk can match this hype.

I'm told it was great.

But given all the hoopla, the video will almost certainly only disappoint us.