McDonald's Nuggets: Top 2023 prospect, big commit, more

This week’s McDonald’s Nuggets discusses early candidates for the top spot in the 2023 class, an update on a five-star prospect in the 2022 class and the Commit of the Week.

RELATED: Who should be the top three prospects in the 2021 Rivals150?

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MORE: Florida Man & Friends Podcast

2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team

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We’re targeting early January for a rankings update in the 2021 and 2022 class, but we also plan to put out our first set of 2023 rankings, which will likely be a top 25 for now. There are obvious challenges to doing this with no shoe company circuits over the summer and many of the top high school events being canceled for this season, but we’re going to do our best with it.

So, who are some candidates for the top overall spot? Let’s start with DaJuan Wagner Jr. The son of the former Memphis star had a terrific freshman season last year, when he showed off his elite skill level. Despite being such a talented scorer, he does a great job keeping his teammates involved. He has great size for a point guard and it’s not hard to bet on him getting better the next few years, given his bloodline.

Mikey Williams is probably the most famous young high school player right now, and he has the game to back it up. He’s in the mix for the top spot in the class for some of the same reasons as Wagner. He has good size and athleticism for a guard, and he can score it with the best of them in the class.

At forward, Matt Bewley had a great summer for Team Breakdown and has continued to stand out for West Oaks (Fla.) this season with 21 points and 13 rebounds per game so far for the nationally ranked program. He has the size, skill and athleticism that college coaches love and NBA scouts will eventually get excited about.

Elijah Fisher’s athleticism and physicality as a 6-foot-7 forward, combined with his ball skills, make him a really intriguing prospect long term.

And lastly, but certainly not least, Kwame Evans Jr. has me really excited about what he could become. He’ll need time to fill out his frame, but his shooting stroke and length will give him a chance to be the best in his class.

Others in the mix for No. 1 are Baye Fall, Omaha Billew, Mookie Cook and Jalen Lewis.

Five-star 2022 forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield released a top five back in October that included Auburn, Kansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Wake Forest. Those schools remain in the mix, but he added another school to that list earlier this week. After a Zoom call with Jim Boeheim resulted in an offer from the Orange, Syracuse has emerged as a contender here, and has made his list into a top six.

Ole Miss has been a strong contender here for quite some time, but it’s probably too early to call it for the Rebels just yet. Auburn, Tennessee and Wake Forest all have strong ties to his travel coach, Bobby Maze, who played at Tennessee for Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl with Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes as one of his assistants. There is still some talk of moving up to the 2021 class, but no decision has been made yet.

Marquette scored a huge addition on Thursday afternoon with the commitment of four-star center Jonas Aidoo. The 7-footer out of North Carolina had high-major schools all over the country chasing him in the past few months, but the Golden Eagles were steady in their pursuit of him since offering.

He has a ton of upside. He’s steadily improving his skill level to where he can score on the block but also hit shots out to three-point range. He’s a strong rebounder and can protect the rim. If his improvement in the last six months is any indication, Marquette fans should be really excited about his commitment.