Junior year has a tendency of being make-or-break for high level basketball prospects, as potential often gives way to production. This sometimes results in meteoric rises from both a rankings and offers standpoint.
With that in mind, this week’s installment of I Got Five On It explores five prospects that seem to have what it takes to make big rankings jumps should their respective junior seasons go the way they hope.
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Rank: No. 23
It’s hard to find many juniors with the upside of the 7-foot-1 Thiam, who is as skilled as he is physically imposing. Thiam’s passing ability and vision is advanced and creative for a big man, and there are few other prospects of his size that move as well as the Senegal native, who also has reliable hands in the post.
He needs to add weight and diversify his offensive game, but the tools in place suggest he could surge well past his current No. 23 ranking if he continues to develop physically and as an outside-the-paint scorer.
Thiam, who has already committed to UCF, has shown a willingness to improve his face-up game and is unafraid to let a jumper fly when left open on the perimeter, though he’s not a long-range sniper by any means. The DME Academy star could make another significant rankings jump if his production begins to match his massive potential.
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Rank: No. 64
Flemings jumped up 40 spots in our last rankings update and his climb may not be finished just yet. The No. 62 junior in the country has gotten out to a hot start and recently snagged an offer from Kansas based on his early-season production.
The San Antonio (Texas) Brennan High School guard impressed during the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas last week and proved to be a reliable offensive threat off the bounce as well as a floor general that sees the court as well as anyone else in the 2025 class.
The crux of the 6-foot-2 guard’s game is elite playmaking ability and a knack for getting to the hoop off the bounce. His upside is on par with any other point guard in the country should he continue to add muscle and become a more consistent long-range shooter.
Flemings already holds offers from programs such as Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech and Alabama in addition to the Jayhawks.
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Rank: No. 42
Like Thiam, Staton is a long prospect with even longer potential. The 7-footer finished the offseason with strong showings at both the USA Basketball minicamp as well as the Border League in Las Vegas. Stanton’s reputation is that of a high-level rim-protector that runs the floor like a wing and can score it in multiple ways in and around the paint.
The sample size on Staton’s game will grow in the year ahead as he embarks on his junior season at Las Vegas’ Sierra Vista High School. Staton is known for his rim-protection and impact on the glass, but his offensive game is starting to fall into place. It seems likely that he’ll end the cycle ranked higher than No. 42.
Staton holds early offers from programs such as UCLA, Auburn, Illinois, USC, Texas and others.
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Rank: No. 2
Ok, so it’s not as though the nation's No. 2 prospect has a lot of room to grow from a rankings perspective. Still, the jump from No. 2 to No. 1 feels larger than one slot, and that’s the massive step Boozer is attempting to take this season.
Supplanting mega-prospect A.J. Dybantsa at the top of the Rivals150 won’t be easy, but the fact that Boozer opened the season with a 25-point, 16-rebound effort in a win over Dybantsa and his Prolific Prep squad was certainly a start.
Boozer has been as consistently productive as any prospect in all of high school basketball and is definitely making a case to reclaim the top spot he once held.
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Rank: No. 77
Not long ago, the 6-foot-7 Lewis had a relatively short offer list that didn’t seem to match his obvious upside, but additional programs have come to the table over the last few months. The Florida-based wing showed his massive ceiling in flashes over the last year and looks like a possible national recruit for those stretches.
His current battle is with consistency and putting it all together for an elongated period. A junior at Tampa (Fla.) Blake High, Lewis now holds offers from programs such as Illinois, USF, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech. A big junior season could bring more heavy hitters to the table, as Lewis’ length and raw ability have grabbed the attention of high-major coaches. Lewis’ frame, agility and developing offensive game provide him with the opportunity to charge up the rankings as his potential continues to give way to production.
