You might remember back in March, I linked to a story where The New York Times -- not exactly a rag -- profiled the high quality of basketball in Washington (you can read it here again).

Well, this week the Louisville Courier-Journal noticed, too. Tipped off by the latest Louisville commitment, the Franklin Quakers' own Peyton Siva, reporter Jody Demling -- the high school guru of the region -- recently profiled the basketball talent coming out of Seattle.

There's some interesting recruiting news there, too, including Kentwood's Josh Smith saying he's considering Louisville, too. Though as someone who has seen the size 19 shoe box that Smith keeps his letters in -- and it's probably a 20 by now, the way that kid grows -- there's a lot of players in the Josh Smith game. He noted that UCLA, UW, Kentucky and Indiana have been considering him pretty strongly, and last winter he told me Georgetown and Duke have been around, too.

As for Garfield's Tony Wroten, he told Demling that Louisville, Maryland, Washington, Seton Hall and Villanova have been recruiting him before he simply said, "I could go on and on." The thing is, he could. Wroten does have one offer already -- and this is the time I feel I should point out he hasn't even started his sophomore year yet -- from Washington.

Also, Rainier Beach's Aaron Dotson said he's being recruited by Indiana, Louisvlle, Miami, Kansas, Florida State and Louisiana State.

I'll be on vacation for the next two weeks, but I'll be back in time to start getting serious about the fall season. It's just around the corner. Until then, here's some more links from around the country.

-Slate takes an interesting look at the decision of Brandon Jennings, the top recruit in the country who elected to play in Europe next year rather than go to junior college.

-I haven't noticed much of this here, but SI.com has a front-page feature today on the troubles facing high-school sports around the country. Even here -- or especially here, considering how much higher the price is than some other states -- gas prices should alter the way some schools do business this year. Clearly, we need hybrid school buses, stat.

-O'Dea linebacker Allen Mooney has committed to Boise State. In the story, Mooney surmises that UW held off on an offer because of his height.

-Perhaps the paparazzi should stake out spots on the bleachers at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif. Because next year's roster will feature Joe Montana's son, Wayne Gretzky's son and Will Smith's son.