On the final High School Hoop national Top 50 list that includes 2010 seniors, Word of God Academy (Raleigh, N.C.) forward C.J. Leslie ranks 10th overall. Throughout the year, C.J. agreed to give HSH and Dime exclusive access and chronicle his thoughts in a bi-monthly diary about the recruiting process and his high school season. In an excerpt from his latest entry, C.J. — having recently signed with N.C. State over Kentucky, UConn, UCLA, Oregon and Florida — talks about the NBA Finals, and preparing for the next step at State:

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… So since school let out all I’ve really been doing is working out really hard! I do a lot of drills and conditioning and a lot of open gym. We play at N.C. State all the time. A lot of old pros and older players come back in the summer to get runs in. I feel like my game is getting better and better. I’m just out there working hard trying to get better every play.

Something that I’m looking forward to is the N.C. Pro Am this summer. It’s a summer league at N.C. Central University in Durham, and all of the guys from State, Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest, along with some pros, play in this league. It’s just great competition and a great way to improve your game and even learn more about some of the guys you’ll be playing against this coming season. …

… I’ve been watching the NBA Finals like everyone else. I’ve got the Celtics all day. Their defense is just too good for the Lakers. The Lakers have size, but the Celtics have more experience and they’ve got the bodies down there. So I’m on the record with all of this!

You can read the rest of C.J.’s diary at HighSchoolHoop.com.