By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor

College basketball coaches are quick to point out that recruiting classes can't be judged until their members' careers are over.

But Miami's coaches find it difficult to curb their enthusiasm when they talk about this year's crop of freshmen. Guard Tyler Jones, guard/forward Doug Penno, forwards Nathan Peavy and Eric Van Buskirk and forward/center Monty St. Clair are living up to their resumes in early practices.

"We're really optimistic, because we're coaches," said Miami assistant James Whitford. "By nature, we're cautiously optimistic, but you can't put the cart in front of the horse."

Outside onlookers aren't as reserved. Two preseason scouting magazines, Street and Smith's and Lindy's, rated Miami's recruiting class the best in the Mid-American Conference.

In terms of reputation, this year's group is at least as good as the 2000 class. Three members of that class - Juby Johnson, Gene Seals and Larry Drake - are seniors, and Chet Mason, who sat out his rookie season, is a junior. Johnson was named Ohio's player of the year by the Gatorade Circle of Champions. Mason was named Ohio's co-Mr. Basketball by the Associated Press and is the first winner of the award to attend Miami. Seals was the runner up in Michigan's Mr. Basketball voting. Drake was a second-team all-Ohio pick.

This year's group owns its share of honors and accomplishments. Jones, from Grant County High School, was Kentucky's Eighth Region player of the year and was named all-state by the Lexington Herald-Leader and Louisville Courier-Journal.

Peavy, from Division II Dayton Chaminade-Julienne, was named second-team all-Ohio.

Penno, an walk-on from Kettering Alter, led the Knights to an Ohio state championship as a sophomore and to the state finals as a senior.

Van Buskirk, who played at Loveland, led Greater Cincinnati in rebounding as a senior with an average of 13.4 per game.

St. Clair averaged 19 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and was first-team all-Ohio last season for Roger Bacon.

What Whitford finds most impressive about Miami's freshmen is their physical development. St. Clair (6-feet-9, 244 pounds), Van Buskirk (6-8, 228), Peavy (6-8, 200), Penno (6-5, 195) and Jones (6-2, 165) all enrolled with college-level physiques.

"A lot of times, it takes awhile to develop the body and strength to keep up physically, but they do as much pushing as getting pushed," Whitford said.

The coaches also like having players that come from successful high school programs. Each of the five freshmen played on a team that posted at least a winning record last season.

Van Buskirk, Peavy and St. Clair also played together on Amateur Athletic Union summer teams.

"You look at how kids accept their roles and whether they know how to win," Whitford said. "They've picked up the offense a lot quicker than we did last year."