McDonald's Nuggets: Summer's five biggest stock risers, more
In this week’s edition of McDonald’s Nuggets, Dan McDonald discusses his five biggest stock risers of the summer in the 2022 class as well as his 2022 Commit of the Week and a visitor to watch this weekend.
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MORE: Big man Tarris Reed chooses Michigan | Quion Williams headed to Oklahoma State
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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STARTING FIVE: Five biggest stock risers of the travel season
The travel season finishes up with a big weekend in Las Vegas starting today, so it’s a good time to recap some of the many prospects that went from being lightly recruited at the high-major level back in March to now having options all over the country.
It’s extremely rare for a prospect to start the travel season not in the Rivals150 and finish it with five stars next to his name, but that’s likely going to be the case with Yohan Traore (1) in the next update. The 6-foot-10 center, who appeared in the last rankings update in May at 64th overall, came over from France during the high school season and never really made a huge impact on a loaded Prolific Prep team last season. But following a strong few months with Southern Assault and Dream Vision, Traore looks like one of the top post prospects in the class. He’s strong, athletic, skilled and competes on both ends, which has resulted offers from many top programs such as Arkansas, Houston, Kansas, Louisville, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA and USC. He could also consider the professional route.
As rare as it is, Ernest Udeh (2) could be another prospect that started the summer outside the Rivals150 that will get consideration for five-star status. Currently at No. 115 overall, the Florida native improved every time out this summer with Southeast Elite and during June with his Dr. Phillips (Fla.) team. He’s a dominant force in the paint at 6-foot-10, with great athleticism, strong hands and soft touch around the rim. Like Traore, he plays with a ton of energy. His offer list includes Baylor, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA and many more.
Kyle Filipowski (3) jumped from No. 117 up to No. 48 overall at the last update in May. The recent Duke commit had a terrific summer and could be another prospect that slides inside of five-star range in the next update. At 6-foot-11, he’s a versatile big man that is comfortable playing away from the basket but also possesses the toughness and willingness to battle in the paint.
It wasn’t until June when Brice Sensabaugh (4) started to score high-major offers. Following a strong showing at the high school team camps in Georgia, he quickly earned offers from Florida, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Vanderbilt and Xavier. A strong showing in the Nike Peach Jam with Each 1 Teach 1 resulted in additional offers from Alabama, Illinois, Stanford and Virginia. The 6-foot-6 forward is an explosive athlete with a big, strong body that also has perimeter skills. He’ll make a sizeable jump into the next Rivals150 update.
I’ve always said if you can perform at a high level at the Peach Jam, you can play anywhere. That’s why I’m confident in Otega Oweh (5) becoming a really good college player. Against the top competition in the country, the 6-foot-4 guard shined for two weeks in helping Team Final on their way to a championship. Oweh has hovered toward the back end of the Rivals150 at the last two updates, but he’s in line for a nice jump at the next update. The new staff at Penn State has done a terrific job with Oweh to date and has already hosted him on a visit. Georgia, Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Providence, VCU, Virginia Tech and Washington are the notable schools with recent offers.
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VISITOR TO WATCH: Austin Nunez at Arizona State
A 10-day dead period starts today through August 15, but Bobby Hurley’s staff at Arizona State was able to sneak in a visit with four-star point guard Austin Nunez this week as he makes his way out to play one last travel tournament in Vegas this weekend. The Texas native has become one of the top targets for the Sun Devils as they look to add a point guard in the 2022 class. The 6-foot-2 lead guard is one of the top shooters in the class and a terrific playmaker. Florida, Marquette, Stanford, Utah and Virginia have also been involved here.
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2022 COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Tarris Reed to Michigan
It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Juwan Howard was able to land one of the top post players in the class, but that doesn’t take away from it being significant news for the Wolverines. Reed was one of the top performers during the first week of the Nike EYBL last week as he averaged 13.3 points and 7 rebounds per game. He joins four-star point guard Dug McDaniel as the second commitment in Michigan’s 2022 class. The Wolverines beat out Big Ten rivals Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue for Reed.