Rivals150 update: New No. 1, big movers

The summer has come and gone, and with that it’s time to refresh the Rivals150 for the class of 2018. Thanks to reclassification, there is a new No. 1 player in R.J. Barrett. Along with Barrett’s ascension to the top, there are several new faces and big movers in the updated rankings.

Here are five storylines that stood out as we compiled the new rankings.

MORE: Complete Rivals150 rankings | 2018 team recruiting rankings

Reclassification has become a big part of high school basketball. So it’s only fitting that the opening at No. 1 created by power forward Marvin Bagley III’s decision to skip his senior year and enroll early at Duke was filled by R.J. Barrett - who moved from 2019 to 2018.

A native of Canada who plays his high school ball at Montverde (Fla.) Academy, Barrett is a skilled and tough shooting guard with 6-foot-7 size, strength and athleticism. His move to 2018 had been expected for quite some time, but after leading Canada to a gold medal win over the United States at FIBA’s U19 World Championships, the time was right to make the move. Barrett is down to a final five of Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan and Oregon. He gets his official visits started with a trip to Kentucky this weekend.

Right on Barrett’s heels is power wing Zion Williamson, one of the most popular high school players we’ve ever covered. The high-flying native of South Carolina put up huge numbers all summer long and has the power to attract a crowd not often seen in high school.

At No. 3 is another player with a huge following, Bol Bol. The son of former NBA player Manute Bol, Bol intrigues with his 7-foot-2 size, impossibly long arms and how easy the game comes to him. Right behind Bol is 6-foot-8 wing Cameron Reddish, who is a polished ball handler with a deadly pull-up jump shot game.

Rounding out the top five is athletic and tough wing Nassir Little. The Floridian made a massive leap into the top five from No. 14 because he has matched the level of his skill with his athleticism and motor.

No point or combo guards make the list until Tre Jones at No. 7 overall. Headed to Duke, where his older brother and former five-star prospect Tyus Jones won a National Championship, Tre Jones is one of many guards capable of making an instant impact. He is one of nine point or combo guards who have achieved five-star status. Players at that position have been the most consistent in their performance.

Making big moves in the group are Louisville-bound combo guard Anfernee Simons and undecided point guard Devon Dotson. They are the two new five-star prospects this time around, with Simons moving from No. 32 to No. 16 nationally and Dotson moving from No. 33 to No. 17.

Every year, people want to know how good a class is.

The 2016 class was flat-out ridiculous, and the 2017 class looks like it could produce five of the first six picks in next summer’s NBA Draft.

The 2018 class? Well, let’s just say that the top of the class hasn’t created the same type of buzz or excitement from those at the highest level of basketball.

There will certainly be several NBA and high-level college players in the 2018 group, but as of now this is a class that frustrates as much as it creates hope for the future. Since they’ve entered high school, the class of 2018 has been plagued by an unusually large group of players that intrigues with talent and size while frustrating because of inconsistency and a tendency to coast.

We have to rank players highly, and all rankings are relative to their peers, but it’s important for prospects to understand that a top-25 or top-50 ranking doesn’t mean anything if they have a sense of entitlement or feel they are above working hard and bringing maximum effort whenever they hit the floor.

If the 2018 class wants to change its perception and increase its chances of leaving a big impact on the college game, there are a lot of players who are going to have to take a long look in the mirror and admit that they cheating the game. If they turn up the work ethic and add some passion to their approach, then 2018 could come close to matching or passing previous classes. If not, there’s a growing fear that we’ll be talking about how many busts there were when looking at this class five or 10 years down the road.

While 2018 hasn’t quite matched up to previous classes on the top end of the rankings, there is quality depth on the back end. In putting this list together, we spent far more time on the final 25 than we did on the first 25. Picking who to drop out of the rankings and which players were the most deserving of a move inside was particularly difficult this time around. We’re not sure that there would be a huge difference if we were to replace the last 25 to make the 2018 Rivals150 with those just outside of the rankings.

This winter is going to require that we pay particularly close attention to those who just missed and those who just made it in so that we can do our best with the final list next spring.

As previously mentioned, Anfernee Simons and Devon Dotson are the two new five-star prospects this time around, and Nassir Little made a big move within five-star territory from No. 14 to No. 5. Syracuse-bound combo forward Darius Bazley also made a notable move inside of the five-star range, going from No. 26 to No. 14. They were just a few of the big movers.

The single biggest mover inside of the Rivals150 was Princeton-bound guard Jaelin Llewellyn. The Canadian import was productive all summer long and made a 53-spot jump to No. 89 overall. He was also elevated from three to four-stars. Four-star wing Talen Horton-Tucker from Chicago also made a massive leap, rising 48 spots from No. 102 to No. 54 overall. Right on Horton-Tucker’s heels as big risers were four-star shooting guard Bryce Hamilton and four-star point guard Michael DeVoe, who rose 38 and 34 spots to No. 74 and No. 62 overall, respectively. Also rising at least 30 spots were big man Immanuel Bates and combo forward Miller Kopp. Both were raised from three to four-star prospects.

In total, there are 15 players in the newest Rivals150 who were not ranked when we last updated in early July. The highest debut is power forward Filip Petrusev at No. 77, while West Virginia-bound point guard Jordan McCabe (No. 139) is the only newcomer to the rankings who has made his college commitment.