Rivals Roundtable: Surprising prospects, hot college programs
Rivals.com's Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Krysten Peek give their thoughts on recent topics in the high school basketball recruiting world.
1. What was the biggest surprise to you in the April evaluation period?
BOSSI: The level that Bol Bol is currently playing at caught me totally by surprise.We have always known that the 7-footer is a big-time prospect with incredible natural gifts. However, how quickly it has all come together for him and how productive he's been – 25.4 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per outing in eight Nike EYBL games – is exceeding all expectations.
EVANS: How could someone such as Jalen Lecque, a 6-foot-3 scoring guard living in the heart of New York City, remain such an under-the-radar prospect? Since the winter, Lecque has announced his plans to reclassify into the 2019 class and attend The Christ School (N.C.), as his highest offer prior to April was from Iona. Now, all that Lecque has done is see his stock jump through the roof as Georgia, Wake Forest and St. John’s have offered.
PEEK: I was surprised by some the younger talent playing up a division and dominating games. This past weekend we watched 2019's Joey Baker dominate at Under Armour and prove his five-star status, while 2019 point guard Cole Anthony had one of the nicest dunks of the weekend in a win for PSA Cardinals during session II for the Nike EYBL. I was also impressed with rising sophomore Marcus Bagley (brother to No. 1 player in 2018 Marvin Bagley). He shot well from the perimeter and was option two on offense after his brother.
2. Who seems to be a hot program right now with prospects based on results of last basketball season?
BOSSI: It's kind of funny to me that I'm going to answer North Carolina because when is UNC not a "hot" program with prospects? But, the fact is there were a few down recruiting years. After a title appearance in 2016 and winning the NCAA Tournament in 2017 the Heels are as hot as they have ever been and I noticed a lot more kids mentioning them. I also noticed Roy Williams, and I noticed him a lot. It seemed as if everywhere I turned, he was right there checking on another kid.
EVANS: It might not be based solely on last year’s results but it is more about Sean Miller’s willingness to buy into the one-and-done idea that his recent teams have displayed. Arizona already sits with the best class in 2018 thanks to the commitments of five-star juniors Emmanuel Akot and Shareef O’Neal. Arizona can be seen as the favorite for Marvin Bagley, Brandon Williams and Gerald Liddell and an upcoming visit from grad-transfer wing Cameron Johnson should also not be forgotten.
PEEK: Arizona is a school I heard consistently during interviews this past weekend. Marvin Bagley, Cam Reddish, Miles Norris, Taeshon Cherry and Tre Jones all said they have Arizona in the mix. Not to mention the Wildcats already landed 2018 five-star Shareef O'Neal and are still in the running for top 2017 five-stars Brian Bowen and Trevon Duval. Also, Sean Miller's hire of Lorenzo Romar seems to be a good move for recruiting as well.
3. Who has shown the most improvement from last year at this time to this year?
BOSSI: I will go with Jontay Porter. Maybe it's that he's out of big brother Michael Porter Jr.'s shadow and he's always been this good but I think he's also improved tremendously. We recently moved him to five-star status in the class of 2018 but he's still underranked and is perhaps pushing for the national top 10. His skill, his feel for the game, his production and what he's done helping MoKan Elite to an 8-0 spring record are something else.
EVANS: This time last year, Ayo Dosunmu was a total unknown as he hadn’t even received his first scholarship offer. Fast forward 12 months and the top-30 guard is on the cusp of five-star status, is a heavily coveted lead guard and is averaging better than 22 points per game in the Nike EYBL. He does have to better his jumper but the strides that he has made make this deficiency of his something that I wouldn’t be too concerned with thanks to his rapid rate of progression.
PEEK: I would have to go with Bol Bol. He's always been a good player but I was not convinced last year that he would rise to the potential of being a top player in the class. After this weekend, he certainly deserves to be in talks for top five overall. He's 7-foot-2 and averaging 4.6 threes a game (and 25.4 points) per game. Watching him play this weekend, it's clear he can do it all on both ends of the floor.
