Published Jan 17, 2018
HoopHall Classic: Which college should be the most excited?
Eric Bossi  •  Rivals Network Hoops Hub
National Analyst
Twitter
@ebosshoops

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – For the last three days, the HoopHall Classic was the center of the high school basketball world as many of the nation's top players headlined by No. 1 overall R.J. Barrett and other stars such as Bol Bol hit the floor.

Which college programs should be the most excited about its incoming talent after the weekend?

HOOPHALL: Monday's takeaways | Zion speaks

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DUKE

The Duke Blue Devils don't just have the top-ranked player in the country headed their way, they have the top two wings, R.J. Barrett and Cameron Reddish. They played the part in Springfield and should be able to help replenish what has become an annual defection of talent to the NBA in Durham.

Strong and tough, Barrett is a pure basketball player who makes the right play each time. He's got that inner pitbull that helps him compete and his mentality should allow him to be the man early at Duke. Then there's Reddish, who is a little taller than Barrett, a little better ball-handler and a better shooter. He just doesn't have Barrett's sense for the big moment yet and for two players so close, that's the separating factor in the rankings.

KENTUCKY

This year's Kentucky class is near the top of the team rankings where it always seems to be, but it has a different feel. The Wildcats don't yet have that no-brainer one-and-done guy and that should be good for a team that looks like it's also going to return more "vets" (aka sophomores) than it is used to having.

In Keldon Johnson, the Wildcats have a power wing with skill and toughness from 17 feet and in who is going to be capable of starting or pushing those in front of him and providing some serious pop off the bench. He's not shy about shooting the ball and proved his status as a top 15 player at the HoopHall.

Inbound point guard Immanuel Quickley got off to a rough start during his HoopHall game, but the Baltimore product righted the ship in the second half. He's not a blur like some UK point guards of the past, but he's strong with the ball and he is a legitimate threat as a jump shooter. He's big enough, too, that it wouldn't be a surprise to see him play next to sophomore Quade Green for stretches in a multiple point guard attack.

LSU

Judging by the way his Tigers are playing this year, new coach Will Wade has LSU a little bit ahead of schedule. As the HoopHall showed, the Tigers also have serious reinforcements on the way in five-star big man Nazreon Reid and four-star power forward Darius Days.

Reid is a massive kid who is filling out to the point that from a body standpoint, he looks like a young Demarcus Cousins. He's capable of putting the ball on the floor, can punish guys physically and has nice skills. Once he gets into a college weight room and learns to answer the bell every time from an effort standpoint, he could be scary and an impact guy as a freshman.

Playing for an IMG Academy team short on size, Days was able to show a level of toughness that he hadn't necessarily been able to show before. Now, that's not to say anybody ever thought of him as soft because that's not at all the case. But to see him play as an undersized five-man, battle and grind, was eye-opening.

MARYLAND

In Jalen Smith, Maryland found a big man who can shoot the ball and play around the rim. The McDonald's All-American is very similar to current NBA player Myles Turner; he's just not quite as big and should be around college for at least two years. He could be a nice complement to the more rugged Bruno Fernando on the interior.

More size for the backcourt is always a good thing and that's what they'll get from Eric Ayala, who was good on Sunday. Ayala is a physical combo guard who is a natural scorer off the dribble and finds ways to get into the lane.

OREGON

People wonder why Dana Altman was able to lure a ridiculous class of five-star McDonald's All-Americans Bol Bol and Louis King along with four-stars Will Richardson and Miles Norris to Oregon.

Here's why:

After playing a Saturday game at Arizona, Altman hopped on a redeye flight to make his way all the way across the country and get to the gym in time to see the 6-foot-10 Norris play in a 10:45 am tipoff. He watched Bol later in the day and didn't leave the gym until around 11 p.m. that night. That's recruiting like a junior college assistant hungry to move up the coaching ladder, not an established head coach coming off a Final Four.

In Bol, the Ducks have landed a player similar to former big man Chris Boucher. Only Bol is much bigger, more talented, shoots better and has a much bigger upside. From a pure talent perspective, he could be the No. 1 player in the class. It's just some inconsistent effort (that is becoming less of an issue) that has held him back.

Norris is a long and lanky insider who will need some time to get stronger and more explosive, but he's got big upside as a mobile center in the Ducks' system. King has the talent to be a top 10-15 player and can shoot well, is a fine athlete and at 6-foot-7, he's a big wing who could also play some as a four man in a Dillon Brooks-type role if he gets consistently physical. As for Richardson, he's a rangy scorer who can play the one or the two and still has lots of room to grow with his game.

GEORGIA TECH, IOWA STATE, OHIO STATE

Unlike the other programs mentioned, Georgia Tech, Iowa State and Ohio State didn't have multiple commitments playing in the HoopHall but their one guy came up big and their fans should be excited.

In Michael DeVoe, Josh Pastner pulled off a steal. Seeing him play now, he looks like the kind of guy that bluebloods may regret not pursuing. He's more of a scoring point, but he has good size, is effective off the dribble and looks ready to produce from day one in Atlanta.

We've long sung the praises of Talen Horton-Tucker and Iowa State fans got to see what the hype was about when he squared off with No. 1 R.J. Barrett in a nationally televised game on Saturday night. At times THT settled too easily for jumpers, but his ability to create, shoot and play physical were all on display. He backed up his recent move into the national top 35 for the class of 2018.

Finally, Ohio State is getting a monster competitor in shooting guard Luther Muhammad. Muhammad put on a display on both ends of the floor in a nationally televised game. He banged home shots, played stretches at the point (where the Buckeyes hope to use him some next year) and looked like perhaps the best perimeter defender in the class of 2018. His toughness will be welcomed in Columbus.