Rivals Rankings Week: Roundtable on updated Rivals150 for 2020

Top-ranked guard Jalen Green fended off the competition to remain atop the new Rivals150, though Scottie Barnes made the leap to the second spot, thanks to his versatile skill set. Right behind him is one of the most improved rising juniors nationally, big man Evan Mobley, with R.J. Hampton and N’Faly Dante rounding out the top five.

Twenty-three prospects sit as five-star recruits with Walker Kessler, Isaiah Jackson and Nico Mannion entering five-star territory this time around. The highest ranked prospect to have made his college commitment thus far is the No. 11 player, Kyree Walker, a 6-foot-4 combo guard who is off the board to Arizona State. Just three others found in the updated top 125 have made their commitments, Day’Ron Sharpe to North Carolina, Nasseem Khaalid to Florida State and Dominick Harris who has pledged to Gonzaga.

Expanding the 2020 rankings to a group 125, the highest ranked prospect to make his initial debut is Cliff Omoruyi, a 6-foot-10 center from New Jersey who settles in at No. 48 overall. Among the biggest risers are Sharpe, who jumped 56 spots, Caleb Love, who is up 42 spots and Dalen Terry, who jumped 36 spots.

The Rivals.com team of Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Dan McDonald discussed the latest update to the 2020 Rivals150.

Who do you think will make the biggest jump from this ranking to the next one?

Bossi: Go ahead and give me Alabama shooting guard Austin Harvell. I’m glad we have entered him into the national rankings at No. 92 overall as a four-star prospect, but I feel like he may have enough talent to crack the top 50. He has very good size, he’s plenty athletic and he has skill to match his impressive physical features.

What he doesn’t yet have is a lot of exposure. It’s tough to rank a guy that high when you have only been able to see him once or twice. He’s one I will be making sure the entire Rivals.com team gets a look at in July so that we can be sure about his ranking.

Evans: It has to be Noah Collier. The product out of eastern Pennsylvania is no stranger to the national scene as he has been a member of USA Basketball training camps in the past, but the product on the floor has not be consistent enough for Collier to receive a high ranking. That is no fault of his own, where he has been forced to play behind such others as Duke-bound Cam Reddish and Indiana recruit Jake Forrester at Westtown School last winter. Collier was also sidelined due to a minor foot injury throughout portions of his sophomore season.

Now healthy, Collier has begun to exhibit all of the potential that has been talked about with him. He had a coming out of sorts at the Nike Top 100 last month and a good few weeks in July with the Team Final 16-under bunch could all be that is needed for him to take a giant leap within the Rivals125. A 6-foot-7 forward with good length and athleticism, Collier is the ideal combo forward that oozes talent and versatility, someone that could finish within the top-40 of his class’ rankings whenever they are put to bed in two years.

McDonald: Skilled big man Dawson Garcia made a pretty strong jump in this set of rankings, but I see another nice bump in his future. It gets harder and harder to move up as you get closer to the top of the list, but I could see him jumping into five-star range before long. His combination skill, length and athleticism are pretty impressive at 6-foot-10. I'm expecting a big July from him.

Who is the most difficult player in the class to rank?

Bossi: I’m going to go with Dalen Terry here. For one, Dan and Corey haven’t gotten to see him play near as much as I have and seeing him as a top-35 type prospect takes a leap of faith from where he is now. I see a 6-foot-5 (maybe even a little bigger) guard with vision, some ball skills and the type of body that is going to fill out nicely with physical maturity. Also, I see a full-time point guard down the road but he’s not yet at that stage and not super consistent. As my co-workers see him more and as he continues to get better, it will be a lot easier to see why I’m so high on him as a prospect.

Evans: At the turn of the century, Hunter Dickinson would have been in the conversation for the best prospect in a class. Unfortunately for the Team Takeover star, the game has vastly changed since then where the need for a low post big man has become extinct. However, Dickinson is just so dominant within his area down low, where he can score over either shoulder, knock down jumpers now to the perimeter and make the proper pass with his back to the basket, he must be given accurate value.

Is he Nikola Jokic? Or, is Dickinson the next Jahlil Okafor, a big man that is super polished with his back to the rim but is deemed close to obsolete due to the need for multi-positional players that can defend across the floor and produce within the more up-tempo affairs? That is just a slither of the debate that takes place with where Dickinson should sit within the Rivals125.

McDonald: I've long been a proponent of production over potential, but I understand potential is part of the evaluation process too. I remember seeing a young Brandon Ingram who may have been the skinniest elite prospect in recent memory as an underclassman, but he always brought productivity along with that enormous potential. This is my biggest question mark with Isaiah Todd. I can see why people get excited about his potential -- he has size, length, good skill and gives you moments of wow -- but at some point, it needs to turn into consistent production too. He is a tough evaluation.

Which player are you afraid is ranked too low?

Bossi: Since he’s moved all the way up to No. 3 nationally, it may sound crazy to say I think Evan Mobley is ranked too low. But, I think the near 7-footer just might be the top prospect in the class of 2020. I go back and forth between him, current No. 1 Jalen Green and No. 2 Scottie Barnes. They are all elite prospects and I just know that nobody has made bigger strides in the last year than Mobley. To go with his size he has mobility, skill and he is getting more athletic by the day.

With the direction the game is headed, he looks like an ideal big man prospect and I wouldn’t have minded him getting an elevation to No. 1. But, at the end of the day a player needs to have No. 1 taken from him and I don’t think Mobley did quite enough to snatch the top spot from Green.

Evans: I am a big fan of Myles Stute’s and while he made his first move within the rankings, I still am afraid that his placement at the 117th overall spot is a bit too low. While he is still attempting to make the transition solely to the small forward position, Stute embodies all that you look for in a long-term prospect. A 6-foot-6 sophomore that competes like his life is on the line, can make shots to the perimeter, is a sneaky athlete at the basket, and is a willing defender that can guard up to three positions on the floor, Stute checks many of the boxes. Toss in the fact that he plays for one of the best 16-under teams in America, Team Takeover, and plays for one of the most respected high school coaches in America with Steve Turner at Gonzaga College High School, and one would expect for Stute to only get better as he ages. I am buying now into the entire picture that is Stute’s profile as a high-major prospect that I am a bit afraid that we ranked him too low in the new Rivals125.

McDonald: We went up five spots with Anthony Edwards from 11th overall to 6th overall, and I'm still not certain we have gone high enough. Of all the elite prospects in the 2020 class, he's probably the one I've seen the most this spring, and he's had two or three of the more memorable moments of the spring.

Against one of the best teams in the Nike EYBL, AOT, he couldn't be contained. He rattled several deep balls, got to the rim as much as he wanted, and set up others. Up against Team Thad last month at the Adidas Memorial Day Classic in Atlanta, he carried his Atlanta Xpress team to a surprising win over a more talented team and did so in a LeBron-like way. Between his top shelf athleticism, strong build and his all-around game, I think he's the best guard in the 2020 class.

What player outside the ranking is most likely to play his way in during July?

Bossi: I’m going to go out West again and say Daishen Nix. I’ve not gotten to see entirely too much of Nix but I like his combination of size, feel for the game and what should be an ability to play either the one or the two for stretches in college. He’s one of those guys that I want to be sure we get a closer look at during July and with the rankings getting expanded from 125 to a true Rivals150 after the summer, his chances are looking strong.

Evans: Rongie Gordon could be the next Alabama native to settle into a high-major recruitment and thus, work his way into the Rivals125 during its next update. I got my first look at the 6-foot-8 big man in May and I was immediately impressed with his ability to score around the basket. Most young players don't understand how to use their body and find angles like Gordon can. Is he a high-flying athlete? No, but he is a presence in the post that can score, rebound and block shots. UAB, Alabama and Georgia Tech are the first to offer Gordon but a good junior summer with the Georgia Stars 16-under unit could be all that he needs to not only elevate his recruitment, but also receive a number next to his name in August.

McDonald: Ebenezer Dowuona is a prospect who is starting to add high-major offers this summer and was very close to making the cut this time around. The long, bouncy 6-foot-10 center has added a nice jumper to his always improving game. When we expand to 150 at the end of the summer, he's almost a lock to be in there as I expect him to have a great July with the loaded Game Elite 16U team out of Florida.