Starting Five: New rankings coming

This week in the Starting Five week we preview our first rankings for the class of 2019 and 2018 expansion from a top 100 to a top 150. Maryland has hosted a key target on a pair of recent unofficial visits, a Florida wing is down to two and Syracuse has added a big transfer.

As we have written before, the race to open at the top spot in the class of 2019 has been between athletic wing R.J. Barrett and impressive big man Charles Bassey. As we prepare to unveil our first ranking of the class of 2019 on Tuesday, it is actually looking like a three-man race. Thanks to a strong summer, skilled big man Balsa Koprivica has worked his way into the argument.

It is still early and there will certainly be more players competing with Barrett, Bassey and Koprivica for the top spot before the spring of 2019. However, the real story with the class of 2019 is the early depth that it has shown. Much like the two most recent above average high school classes of 2016 and 2013, a number of players have shown elite potential at an early date and for that reason at least 15 players will debut in the rankings as five-star prospects.

The expansion of the class of 2018 rankings from an initial top 25 this time last year to a full-fledged Rivals150 will come to a conclusion when we release new rankings on Thursday.

Though there is going to be some change in the upper tier of the rankings, it isn’t likely that power forward Marvin Bagley is going to lose his grip on the top spot. The athletic and skilled 6-foot-10 product of Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon remains a cut above the rest of the class and continued to show legitimate star power during the summer.

Currently there are 16 five-star prospects in the class of 2018 and after a review of summer play, that number should be moving closer to 20. Some of those making strong plays for five-star consideration include point guards Immanuel Quickley and Darius Garland along with big man Moses Brown and recent Arkansas commitment, power forward Reggie Perry.

Next week, the class of 2017 Rivals150 will get updated and one player in good shape to make his debut is combo guard Darryl Morsell.

Thanks to a strong summer with Baltimore-based Team Melo, the physically tough and high-scoring guard is poised to enter the rankings as a four-star prospect. On the recruiting front, Morsell has been making moves and Sunday he made his second month of August unofficial visit to Maryland.

Maryland, a local program who offered Morsell during the summer, also expect to receive an official visit from Morsell. Morsell is also considering Villanova, Virginia Tech, Dayton and Notre Dame. For now the plan is to visit all five, but given the flurry of activity with Maryland, it’s not unreasonable to think that Mark Turgeon and his staff could hold and edge entering the final few weeks of Morsell’s recruitment.

One player set to make his choice this week is three-star wing Anthony Polite.

A 6-foot-6 small forward who plays at the Boca Raton (Fla.) St. Andrew’s School, Polite is a physically strong and skilled wing who is originally from Switzerland.

Polite announced via his Twitter account that he will decide between Florida State and Miami on Tuesday. Headed into the announcement, the Seminoles -- who already hold a commitment from Polite’s summer teammate Raiquan Gray -- appear to be the favorite.

Syracuse landed a potentially big addition Sunday when Nebraska wing Andrew White III announced that he will play his senior season for the Orange.

A four-star prospect out of high school, White played his first two college seasons as a reserve at Kansas. After leaving Kansas, he assumed a much more major role at Nebraska where he averaged 16.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game while making over 41% of his three-point attempts.

The addition of White III looks to be a perfect match. The Orange unexpectedly lost Malachi Richardson to the NBA Draft after just one year and while freshman wing Tyus Battle has loads of potential, there was need for a big wing with range on his jumper and experience. For White, the Syracuse zone should help to cover some of the struggles he has had as a man to man defender during his first three seasons of college ball.