Kendrick Perkins (Ozen/Beaumont, Texas) is the latest high school player to test the water and see how warm the NBA draft may be. Six-foot-9 Charlie Villanueva (Blair Academy/Blairstown, N.J.), 6-9 Ndudi Ebi (Westbury Christian/Houston, Texas) and 6-9 Travis Outlaw (Starkville, Miss.) are other prominent prospects to do the same.

Of course, LeBron James is the most prominent and we should also mention 6-10 James Lang (Central Park Christian/Birmingham, Ala.), who also declared his intentions but with a twist: Lang says he is coming out … Period. No turning back for Lang.

Neither Perkins (6-9), Villanueva (6-9), Ebi (6-9) or Outlaw (6-9) have an agent of record, so they can, if invited, go to Chicago workout, get a feel for their chances and then attend college if they so desire.

Of course, there is a twist. If Perkins decided to remain in the draft after June 19 and was selected, he could actually play a freshman year of college basketball and then turn pro the following year, although he would be paid at whatever position he was drafted.

The kicker to all of this is that it now appears that several top foreign prospects are going to enter the draft this year and that could push a lot of the high school players down or out of the draft.

So Memphis could get lucky and see Perkins next fall as could Mississippi State with Outlaw, Arizona with Ebi and … someone With Villanueva.

Nobody asked, but for our money, outside of James, Ebi and Outlaw have the most Upside among those prospects.

Former Arizona Wildcat Dennis Latimore, a 6-8 power forward, has transferred to Notre Dame. Like Ryan Humphrey before him, Latimore wanted to be able to step out on the floor and hit the three and dribble the ball. Like Ryan Humphrey did after transferring to Notre Dame, Latimore will bang inside, post up and rebound the ball. He will not do so with as big an impact as Humphrey, who was more athletic, but he will be an efficient player for the Irish.

By the way, getting experienced transfers is becoming an effective countermeasure against some early departures. Like McDonald's All Americans, everybody wants one.

Everybody wants tunas (big guys) but everybody also needs good point guards. There have been a few relatively recent commitments that are worth noting.

Five-foot-10 Carl Marshall (Crane Tech/Chicago) could impact for Baylor as a late commitment. Japhet McNeil (Christ the King/Middle Village, N.Y.) committed to East Carolina. The 5-10 high-energy performer should give a lift to the Pirates.

Randy Pulley (Barton County CC, Kan.), who started out at St. Louis University, will be a huge addition at 6-2 for Missouri next year. Penn State pulled in 5-11 Marlon Smith (Archbishop Malloy/Briarwood, N.Y.). Perhaps Smith can pave the way for the Nittany Lions getting an occasional New Yorker to come their way in the future.

There continues to be activity in the Class of 2004 (current juniors). Combo guard Gabriel Pruitt (Westchester/Los Angeles, Calif.) has had an on-again-off-again relationship with USC. Well, it appears the 6-2 shooter, who can play the point as well, is verbally committed to Southern California. Or at least has them at the top of his list.

Ronald Steele (John Carroll/Birmingham, Ala.) made a verbal commitment to Alabama. The 6-2 Steele is a very good athlete and has the upside to surpass several point guards who are more highly rated than him.

Maryland received a commitment from 6-7 power forward James Gist (Our Lady Good Counsel/Wheaton, Md.). Gist is not a highly-skilled player, but is a long-armed kid who does very well around the basket and can run the floor.

And we must say that 6-0 point guard Kyle Lowry's (Cardinal Dougherty/Philadelphia) stock has risen exceptionally high with us after viewing him at the Gym Rats 10th Annual Run 'N Slam All Star Classic held during May 2-4 at the Spiece Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Lowry did whatever it took for his team to win. We were also impressed by what he didn't do. He didn't take a shot but kept "going to the well," as his inside players were doing well. When his team ran a high on-ball screen for him, he tried to penetrate saw it wasn't there and just pulled it back out for a reset.

Not what you usually see on the spring and/or summer circuit where players are trying to boost their reputations among the nation's scouts and college coaches. When needed to score, Lowry did, notching 41 in a semifinal contest.

He was deservedly named the MVP of a tournament that featured some other very talented players. His team, Philly MJC, won the championship of a tournament that is always exceptionally well run with a very good field of strong Midwestern teams and the occasional sprinkling from the East.

David Benezra and Mark Mayemura of Recruiting USA cover the national college basketball recruiting scene. E-mail at: hoopsusa@mindspring.com or call 818-363-1978.