Starting Five: No. 1 prospect in 2018, Bagley finds new home

It’s a new year and the Starting Five is back. This week, we discuss 2018’s No. 1 player Marvin Bagley finding a new home and much more.

After an incredibly successful freshman season and state title at Tempe (Ariz.) Corona Del Sol, a season in which Marvin Bagley emerged as the No. 1 player in 2018, the 6-foot-10 power forward wanted to try something new for his sophomore season.

The quest to play a more national schedule led him to Phoenix (Ariz.) Hillcrest Academy. In November, Bagley and his family decided that the school wasn’t a good fit for the five-star talent and he’s been looking for a new school since then.

Over the weekend, Bagley found a new home and he’ll be headed to attend school at Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon where he hopes to play for head coach Ty Nichols.

Bagley will enroll on Monday and needs to be cleared by the state of California in order to play this season, but if he is able to play he’ll be joining what is an already loaded roster. Nevada-bound senior point guard Devearl Ramsey currently ranks No. 106 in the class of 2016 while juniors Cody Riley, Ira Lee and Remy Martin rank Nos. 25, 35 and 94 in 2017, respectively.

On New Year’s Eve, California landed a guy that it hopes can be the floor general of the future.

A 6-foot-2 junior, Jemarl Baker of Corona (Calif.) Roosevelt gave Cuonzo Martin and his staff the holiday pledge giving the Golden Bears two guards from the class of 2017. He joins three-star Alec Hickman and gives the Bears a tough customer in the backcourt.

Ranked No. 142 overall in 2017, Baker is a physically tough and athletic guard who is capable of playing as either a point or shooting guard. He gets to the rim, is a very good good pull-up jump shooter, rebounds very well for his position and plays the type of in-your-face defense that Martin covets from his players.

During last week’s trip to California, one of the more pleasant surprises was the play and development of 2018 power forward Miles Norris.

College coaches have also taken notice of the skilled and fluid four-man from Chula Vista (Calif.) Mater Dei.

While playing in the Under Armour Holiday Classic, Norris told Rivals.com that he had already received offers from Utah, San Diego State, Oregon, Washington, Washington State, California, Auburn and St. John’s.

Over the weekend, Norris added his first elite offer. Ryan Silver, the program director of Norris’ summer team Earl Watson Elite, informed Rivals.com that Norris has now been offered by Sean Miller’s Arizona program.

At least a top 50 and potentially a top 25 prospect in the class of 2018, Norris figures to add many more offers before he makes a choice.

There aren’t many legitimate high-major big men left unsigned in 2016. But Montverde (Fla.) Academy center Bruno Fernando is one of them.

Currently ranked No. 141 in the 2016 Rivals150, the 6-foot-10, 225-pound center has had a tremendous senior season. Though he isn’t polished on offense, he has proven to be a high-level rebounder, has better hands than thought and has the size and athleticism to compete right away at a high level.

Take a player like that and put him in a market that doesn’t feature many like him and the stock takes off. Though he’s yet to release an official list, Fernando is hearing from the likes of Duke, Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Marquette, Alabama, SMU, Central Florida, South Florida and many more.

Though there has been some talk that Fernando could end up doing a prep year at Montverde, it’s looking like he will end up a 2016 kid and the battle for his services will be one to watch closely during the late winter and early spring.

One of the biggest disappointments last spring and summer was the play of 2016 power forward Nick Rakocevic.

Formerly a four-star prospect who ranked among the top 75 of the current senior class, Rakocevic was ineffective with his play on the summer circuit and as a result he fell out of the Rivals150 and saw his stock drop with college coaches.

More recently, though, trusted sources in the state of Illinois tell us that the 6-foot-10 power forward at Westchester (Ill.) St. Joseph has returned to form. A good athlete who could face and shoot some, word is that Rakocevic is much more dedicated to producing as a rebounder and around the rim scorer and that the results have been impressive.

Given his size and previously displayed potential, Rakocevic is going to earn himself another chance with many programs. Illinois is one that has been in touch, USC is taking a look, North Carolina has called to check on him, Indiana has kept tabs and many more are starting to reach out.