Rivals Rankings Week: A new No. 1 for 2021 and more roundtable talk

2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2021 Rankings: Rivals150

RELATED: Roundtable on the 2020 rankings updates

Today in Rivals Rankings Week we update the class of 2021 ranking and expand it from a top 75 to a top 100. We also introduce a new No. 1 player as high-scoring small forward Jonathan Kuminga rises from No. 3 to the top spot.

There’s a pair of new five-star prospects in combo forward Jabari Smith and big man Chet Holmgren. A skilled and explosive inside/out scorer, Smith’s play during the spring and with USA Basketball allowed him to move all the way up to No. 5 from No. 33. In his second move of the spring, the 7-foot tall Holmgren goes all the way up from No. 25 to No. 7 overall.

Because we have expanded the rankings, there are several newcomers to the list. Making the highest debut is Alex Tchikou at No. 27 overall. A native of Paris, France, Tchikou will be playing at a new school for his junior season because Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep has shut down. Making the biggest climb of anybody who was previously ranked is Daeshun Ruffin. The recent Auburn commitment is an explosive scorer and moved all the way up to No. 35 from No. 64.

Rivals.com analysts Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Dan McDonald share the thought process behind some of the most discussed issues in compiling the final rankings.

Bossi: For me it was deciding where to put the cutoffs for four- and five-stars. These guys are all so young and there are still so many more players for us to see that I didn’t want to be over-the-top with making too many players four or five-stars only to see them drop through the years. At the end I feel good with 15 five-star prospects at this point and 82 being the cutoff for four-star players.

Evans: The proper order of the top-four. Jonathan Kuminga has been on a tear all spring long and looks to be one of the best prospects in the high school game, regardless of classification. Terrence Clarke is not too far behind as he capped off a tremendous spring at the Pangos All-American Camp last week. Patrick Baldwin is the ideal small forward in today’s game that can play all over the place on the offensive and really, really make shots. Lastly, Paolo Banchero has grown another inch or two, rounded out his game and produces across the board. All four are worthy No. 1 candidates in any given year, which goes to show how great Kuminga is and how strong this class is at the top.

McDonald: The order of the top three was probably the biggest debate in this update for the three of us. Having to factor in the long term potential of each prospect with what they are doing right now is always tough, especially when they play different positions. I personally like Clarke the most of the three, but it's really close. Kuminga has been really, really good too each time I've seen him.

Bossi: Moussa Cisse has taken so many strides over the last year that I couldn’t imagine anybody thinking he isn’t a top-10 player at this point. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s mean and the No. 9 player in 2021 is equal parts rim protector and developing scorer. I really feel he’s just starting to scratch the surface of his potential and he could be a guy that eventually pushes for the top-five in the class if he continues to develop at the rate he has over the last year.

Evans: Isael Silva has made a major move and now sits at the No. 31 overall spot in the Rivals150; not bad for someone that was unranked. Silva wowed in April with his ability to control the entire floor, unlike many other sophomore lead guard prospects.

Fast-forward to the current day and not only has Silva remained an elite playmaker and distributor, but better yet, might have grown another inch and improved in the athleticism category. He is everything one would want in a premier point guard target and his unselfish demeanor and mental makeup makes you believe that he is only going to get better. It is hard not to believe in Silva now as a top-35 prospect.

McDonald: Kennedy Chandler jumped up 17 spots in this update and I'm completely on board with it. He was really impressive in the game I saw where he was matched up with Caleb Love. He's a high-level competitor, really good in the transition game and can both finish himself and set up others. I liked how hard pressures the ball defensively as well. He's going to be one of the best point guards in this class.

Bossi: Patrick Baldwin Jr. Personally, he’s still my No. 1 player in this class and I’m split on Jonathan Kuminga and Terrence Clarke right behind him. He’s the youngest and best shooter of the group. Add in tremendous size, a great feel for the game and you have a dude with unlimited upside. He’s not flashy, doesn’t have a lot of hype around him and simply gets the job done. Kuminga is a very deserving No. 1 and Clarke is a very deserving No. 2 and I am good with the decision that we came to as a group but I do worry about Baldwin Jr. being “underrated” at No. 3 if that’s possible.

Evans: Manny Obaseki was not even ranked prior to the newly updated Rivals150 so him appearing at No. 61 is a good start but I am still a bit worried that we have him too low. He is growing into the playmaking role, but what he does really, really well is score the ball. Obaseki burst on the scenes this spring and has not stopped. His DNA says compete, which he does practically on each possession.

Sure, there are some areas that he has to refine, but whenever it comes to defending, scoring and doing whatever it takes for his team to win, Obaseki is willing to do it. He is a sneaky athlete, too, which is why, if he continues to patch it all together, No. 61 could be the floor to where he can be in the end.

McDonald: Kowacie Reeves is making his debut at No. 65 and that may not be high enough. Over the past year, he's shot up from about 6-foot-2 to around 6-foot-6. He's a long, bouncy wing with one of the better perimeter strokes around. His body hasn't caught up to his growth spurt yet so he's lacking in strength but he's certainly not lacking for toughness, which he shows regularly on the defensive end. Not playing for a shoe company team has somewhat limited how many viewings coaches and scouts can get on him, but I think you'll see his stock rise steadily over the next 12 months.

Bossi: Chet Holmgren. The seven-footer from Minnesota finished the winter as a fringe top-50 prospect and has rapidly ascended the rankings all the way up to No. 7 overall. I get that some worry about his lack of strength but his ability to block shots, rebound, run the floor and then score from all three levels is so impressive to me. The other thing that stands out about Holmgren is that despite his lack of strength, he’s plenty tough.

Evans: Jabari Smith has made the move. Back in April, I was not afraid to say it; I believed then that he was worthy of a top-five ranking. Others thought that I had jumped the gun a bit too soon, but after a strong showing on the adidas circuit this spring before then acting as a productive forward for the gold winning United States under-16 team last week, the time is now for Smith to receive his dues.

Sure, he is not as productive as the four others above him in the rankings but whenever it comes to pure talent alone, the physical tangibles and knowing that his father, Jabari Smith Sr., has been there and done that as he played in the NBA for a few years and is mentoring him properly, Smith might be a bit too high for others but here, I know that he will prove us right.

McDonald: Smith went from No. 33 overall all the way up to No. 5 overall. That's a tough jump for a prospect to make from outside of five-star range all the way into the top five. Smith is incredibly talented at 6-foot-9 with a well-round skill-set. I personally like to stay on the conservative side of moving guys up that much in one rankings update, but at the same time, I'm not sure we're wrong here. Smith has really high end potential.