Rivals Rankings Week: Roundtable on the 2024 rankings
Today, we place a bow on Rivals Rankings Week with a conversation about the refreshed Rivals150. Analysts Rob Cassidy and Jason Jordan field three questions about the update, as they outline which players they see as under-recruited, which commitments they view as steals and which prospects could shoot up the rankings based on their upcoming senior seasons.
RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK: Storylines surrounding 2024 Rivals150 | Position breakdown | Top 10 Countdown for 2024 class
NEW 2024 POSITION RANKINGS: Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center
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2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2025 Rankings: Top 130
2026 Rankings: Top 65
Transfer Portal: Latest news | Portal player ranking/transfer tracker (hoops) | Portal player ranking/transfer tracker (football)
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WHICH UNCOMMITTED PLAYER IN THE RANKINGS DO YOU FEEL MIGHT BE A LITTLE UNDER-RECRUITED?
Cassidy: I guess I’ll go with Jahki Howard based solely on what I saw from him this summer. Yes, I realize there was some chatter surrounding his many transfers at the high school level and all the different grassroots programs for which he played. I also know he didn’t exactly have a stellar junior season, but it’s clear that the 6-foot-6 wing put some serious work in over the last year and came out reenergized and focused this in 2023.
He’s become an extremely versatile and motivated defender and more reliable outside shooter. Howard averaged 16.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 17 EYBL games this season and shot 56 percent from the floor while doing so. Still, he seems to have fewer committable options than I would expect after the trajectory he showed this summer. If he continues to dedicate himself the way he did this spring, he could be a steal for a program willing to take a bit of a gamble on a player that has done the work to improve.
Jordan: I’ll say Del Jones, who got a bump in the latest rankings reboot this week to No. 105 overall. I had this conversation last week with a few coaches about him and his potential after a stellar season on the Nike EYBL. He’s got great feel and pace as a point guard and is a sniper of a shooter from deep. I felt like he was one of the more consistent lead guards I watched all summer and as a result has good offers from USC, Xavier, Tennessee, Providence, etc. Still, I think he could command top billing on recruitment boards with what he’s done over the last four months.
The good news for him is that playing in the NIBC this season with AZ Compass will put him on the biggest stage, which could catapult him even more.
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WHICH PROSPECT OUTSIDE THE TOP 100 DO YOU THINK COULD RAISE HIS STOCK FURTHER DURING THE UPCOMING HIGH SCHOOL SEASON?
Cassidy: People whose opinions I value and trust seem to think we have Orlando Christian Prep guard Isaiah Brown extremely underrated at No. 142, and I certainly won’t rule that possibility out. Our sample size on the Florida commit is small, having seen him live only twice, so the 6-foot-5 prospect could have been the victim of a couple mediocre days at the wrong time. We’ll see how that shakes out.
The point is, however, we plan to give him a much closer look when the high school season gets underway. His length is certainly intriguing, as is his handle. If he proves to be a shot creator in upcoming viewings, I don’t mind sliding him way up the list because the upside is obvious. He’s definitely one to monitor.
Jordan: Well, I just mentioned Del Jones and for the same reason I’ll say Christian Anderson. He too, will be in the NIBC, at the controls for Oak Hill Academy and that should keep him at the forefront, in terms of exposure, of the high school basketball world all season. The NIBC televises its games on ESPN platforms so his big games will be even more magnified and after a strong summer in the Nike EYBL and with the German National team, I expect big things from the Michigan point guard commit.
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WHICH PLAYER IN THE RIVALS150 DO YOU SEE AS THE BIGGEST STEAL FOR THE TEAM THAT LANDED HIM?
Cassidy: Ok, I know calling the No. 24 prospect in the country a steal sounds insane, but hear me out on Baylor commit Robert Wright. I see him as the best pure point guard in the class and his ranking has been limited only by his lack of NBA length. If he were 6-foot-4, he’d be staring down the top-five of the rankings. While Wright may not ever be an NBA lottery pick because of his height and defensive limitations, the Bears have what I think will be one of the best players in the college game on their hands.
Jordan: I'll add Peyton Marshall for Missouri. At 6-foot-10, 305 pounds, Marshall is, arguably, the biggest, most physically imposing prospect in the country and he gets a lot of flack sometimes for being a little slower as a result. Still, after watching him a lot this summer, I feel like people overlook his footwork and the fact that he’s slimmed down a bit since the beginning of the spring. As he levels up, he’ll get with better trainers and nutritionists and I could see him having a DJ Burns-like impact in the college game. Burns was a big body who continued to evolve and now he’s a go-to big in Kevin Keatts’ system at NC State.