Hot prep recruit commits verbally

~ The guard can sign with Southeast on Nov. 14.

As the older brother of the reigning Ohio Valley Conference player of the year, Carl Reed says he knows a thing or two about OVC basketball.

And Reed said he will be surprised if the player who gave Southeast Missouri State a verbal commitment Monday is not the 2008-09 OVC freshman of the year.

That's how highly Reed regards Martino Brock, a 6-foot-5 combo guard who Reed coaches at Nashville Christian Advancement Academy in Nashville, Tenn.

Brock said Monday that he plans to make it official with Southeast when the early signing period begins Nov. 14.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, he'll be the best freshman perimeter player to come into the OVC next year," said Reed, whose younger brother Drake Reed was the OVC player of the year as a sophomore forward at Austin Peay last year. "He'll be a candidate for freshman of the year ... I'll be surprised if he doesn't get it.

"With my brother being the player of the year and having seen so many of his games, I'm definitely qualified about those kinds of awards."

Rivals.com, one of the nation's top recruiting Web sites, listed Brock as a three-star recruit.

In the rivals.com top 150 national list for the class of 2008, the top 28 players are rated five-star recruits, with the next 72 four-star recruits and the last 50 three-star recruits.

Brock is not among the rivals.com top 150, but the fact he is rated a three-star recruit means he is not far removed from that list.

Recruited by big programs

According to rivals.com, Southern Illinois was actively recruiting Brock, while Reed said Cincinnati, Missouri, Auburn and Mississippi were among the schools also interested.

"Every school in the OVC was all over this kid, and some very big programs were very interested," Reed said.

Brock said he has received scholarship offers from Nebraska and UAB, along with Murray State and Austin Peay of the OVC.

But he said he chose Southeast because "I think I'll be able to have a big impact right away. It will give me a chance to showcase my abilities."

Added Brock, regarding the Redhawks' program: "I think it will keep getting better and better. I want to be a part of it."

Reed spent last year as the coach at Pioneer Christian Academy in Nashville, which was led by Darnell Wilks, the former Central High School player and top 50 national recruit who is now at Cincinnati.

Reed, who said he is Wilks' legal guardian, compared Brock to Wilks athletically.

"He's very explosive. He's the same type of athlete as Darnell Wilks is," Reed said. "He's electric, totally electric. And a hard worker. He will punch the clock every single day.

"Their fans should get very excited. He should start from day one."

A native of Memphis, Tenn., Brock played the past three years for Ridgeway High School in that city.

Reed said Brock, who weighs about 200 pounds, averaged 14 points and seven rebounds per game for Ridgeway last year.

"He's a great perimeter defender and he can score in a variety of different ways," Reed said. "He's not a great shooter, but he's a scorer."

Reed said this year's Nashville Christian Advancement Academy team will have seven Division I players, but Brock is the best of the bunch.

According to Reed, a major factor in Brock picking Southeast was Redhawks coach Scott Edgar, who is well known in Memphis after recruiting in the city for many years, including as an assistant at Arkansas and Tennessee, and as the coach at Murray State.

"Martino is coming to Southeast Missouri because of Scott Edgar. He's huge in Memphis," Reed said. "If Scott Edgar were not at Southeast Missouri, he would not have even considered them."

Under NCAA regulations, Edgar cannot comment on recruits until they officially sign.