The Rivals.com national basketball recruiting team discusses topics surrounding Wednesday's release of the updated Rivals150.
MORE: 2018 Rivals150 | 2018 team rankings | 2019 Rivals150 | Twitter Tuesday
1. Who do you think will make the biggest jump from this ranking to the next one?
ERIC BOSSI: The guy who stands out to me as having a chance to make another big jump is power forward Amanze Ngumezi from Georgia. He made big strides late in July and seems to have another level he could take his game. He has good size, is athletic and has tools to be a versatile forward who can play some facing the hoop. He's a little inconsistent right now and sometimes settles for jumpers when he could be a force around the hoop, but all of the tools are in place. The very last guy in, Tyrese Haliburton, has upward mobility too. He has length, size and skill for a guard but is a bit of a mystery because I didn't get to see him nearly as much as some of the other players we ranked.
COREY EVANS: Filip Petrusev is a name to keep tabs on this fall. A 6-foot-8 forward from Serbia that made noise this past summer playing with his under-18 national team at the European Championships, Petrusev was originally committed to Hartford. In July, the now member of the Montverde Academy program backed off of his pledge and already has heard from a handful of upper echelon and blueblood programs. Petrusev is at 85th overall, but could finish within the top-50 upon a solid senior season.
KRYSTEN PEEK: Every time I see Keyontae Johnson play he always surprises me with how well he finishes at the rim and his vision in transition. Johnson played alongside the No. 1 point guard in the 2016 class, Trevon Duval, last year at IMG Academy and I saw him get better throughout the season. There's no question he was picking up different aspects of Duval's game and shaping it into his own. This year Johnson is headed to Oak Hill Academy for his senior season and I expect his game to improve playing under esteemed head coach Steve Smith. The four-star shooting guard recently picked up offers from Ohio State, NC State, Kansas, Connecticut and Vanderbilt.
DAN MCDONALD: Will Richardson made a pretty big jump in this set of rankings, but I still see him as somebody that has even more room to move up. He continues to become a more dynamic scorer with pretty good size for a guard, and he continues to progress as a primary ball-handler, which is what he wants to be long term. Going to Oak Hill for his senior year will put him in a situation where he's practicing against some of the best players in the country on a daily basis and putting him on a stage to play against some of the top teams in the country. It's hard to move up a ton once you're in the top 50, but I see the Georgia native with a chance to do just that.
RUSS WOOD: Will Richardson. I love how this kid meets challenges. I think he will respond well to the tough practices and the tough schedule that Oak Hill plays.
2. Who is the most difficult player in this class to rank?
ERIC BOSSI: Talk about a loaded question, because as much as any class as I can remember the 2018 one is full of tough kids to rank. There are plenty of talented players but also many who are inconsistent and moody. For me, I think Shareef O'Neal is probably the toughest. There are days where he looks like the second coming of Rudy Gay and others where the Arizona commit and son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is strangely quiet. Because of who his father is, O'Neal always has extra eyes on him and part of the struggle in ranking him is being sure that you are judging solely on what he is doing on the floor and blocking out all of the noise that comes along with being Shaq's son.
COREY EVANS: Khavon Moore may be one of the most difficult prospects to plaster a number alongside. There is never a question with his talent level or abilities but rather about his primary deficiency, that being consistent shooting, along with continued production. During his underclassman years, Moore was a five-star prospect thanks to his size, ball skills and versatility. He did not kick things off on a strong note this spring but when placed around a slew of talented offensive pieces, Moore was fantastic in closing out his senior summer. A 6-foot-8 wing-forward that has similar traits to PJ Dozier, the one-time South Carolina star, if he can find the proper role and system in college, not only is our rankings of him too low but he might just turn into one of the top breakout performers from the 2018 class at the next level and beyond.
KRYSTEN PEEK: I'm going to go with a position group and say the point guards in the 2018 class are the hardest to rank. At any given tournament, one point guard can outplay the other one. I watched Marcus Zegarowski shoot lights out against Darius Garland at Peach Jam and Noah Locke take on 2019 top point guard Cole Anthony in Indianapolis. I also saw Devon Dotson go head to head with Immanuel Quickley at the adidas Summer Championships and Anfernee Simons and Jahvon Quinerly crush everyone at the NBPA Top 100 Camp. Consistency is the key for the point guard position and my head would spin in circles ranking these talented players. I'm happy to leave that up to Bossi, Corey and Dan McDonald while I sit back and appreciate how good these players are.
DAN MCDONALD: For me, it's all the point guards at the top. I'm pretty firmly in the camp that says Tre Jones is the top point guard in the 2018 class, but after him, I probably change my mind every time I watch each of the next few guys play. They all have different traits that make them really good. I love Darius Garland's consistency. Immanuel Quickley has outrageous upside. Jahvon Quinerly feels like the next Marcus Paige-type four-year star guard. Devon Dotson's toughness and competitiveness are second to none. I could go on, but I've made my point. It's a really good point guard class, and really hard to rank them.
RUSS WOOD: Colin Castleton. Ranking young bigs is a challenge for me. I really like Castleton's upside, and as a result I'm higher on him than his current rank.
3. Who is one player outside this ranking right now that you think can play his way into it?
ERIC BOSSI: I will go with combo guard Elijah Parquet from Texas. He has good size, he can get to the rim and he is somebody when I watched I said to myself, This guy could really explode with good college coaching. As he finds a balance between jump shooting and getting to the rim, he's got a big upside.
COREY EVANS: Keeping Myles Dread outside of our Rivals150 rankings was one of the toughest omissions made as the Penn State commit has improved every step of the way and, in a similar manner, won. A 6-foot-5 wing/forward that is the epitome of a glue guy, Dread was labeled as a tweener during his earlier years but has progressed to the point that he can become a secondary scorer and top of the line defender in State College. He has been a guiding hand for Gonzaga College High’s success within its superior league and also a catalyst for the Team Takeover brigade on the Nike EYBL circuit the past two years. Dread checks many of the boxes and with what we expect to be another few months of getting better, I would not be surprised to see him in our rankings next time around.
KRYSTEN PEEK: Chris Doherty played his heart out during the adidas Summer Championships and at times, was the best forward on the floor. The 6-foot-7 big from Massachusetts has a strong back-to-the-basket game and crashes the boards hard. Right now Rutgers, Boston College and a handful of other low- to mid-majors are involved in his recruitment. Keep an eye on him to possibly enter the mix the next round of rankings.
DAN MCDONALD: Morris Udeze is the guy I like to work his way into the next rankings update. After watching him in Orlando last month, he has a strong case to be in right now, but it's hard to fit everybody in that we want to get in. Inevitably, we have to leave good players out. But I really like Udeze's toughness and explosiveness, and I think he's going to be a terrific addition for somebody in the 2018 class. He may not ever lead his college team in scoring, but he will dominate in the paint and his presence will be felt.
RUSS WOOD: Souleymane Koureissi. He's long, athletic and at 6-foot-8 he has some guard skills. He can defend out on the perimeter and inside.
MORE: Doherty highlights
