Top 10: Spring scouting prospects
With the high school season beginning to wind down and prospects improve and emerge across the country, we take a look at 10 prospects we are looking forward to scouting on the travel circuit this Spring.
Advertisement
School: Fort Bend (Texas) Travis
The Buzz: The 6-foot-5 point guard lost one threat to his spot atop the 2013 rankings during the week when Nerlens Noel made the switch to 2012. But, he's still got Jabari Parker and Julius Randle hot on his heels. He looked good when we last saw him in November.
School: Burbank (Calif.) Providence
The Buzz: The classes of 2014 and 2015 both look to be pretty strong in Southern California. But, nobody out there is getting more buzz than the 6-foot scoring point guard from the class of 2015. He's being compared to a young Brandon Jennings.
School: Baltimore (Md.) City College
The Buzz: During October's USA Basketball developmental camp, the long and skilled wing came seemingly out of nowhere to turn heads. Currently a four-star prospect, if the 2014 small forward can play at the level he did during October he's got a strong chance to move into five-star range.
4. Karl Towns
School: Metuchen (N.J.) St. Joseph's
The Buzz: St. Joseph's has produced a couple of pros in recent memory with guys like Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum. It's unfair to go to that length with Towns just yet, but he does appear to be a potentially elite level big man in the class of 2015. He's big, but also very skilled.
School: Cordova (Tenn.) Evangelical Christian School
The Buzz: Another talented big man from the class of 2015, Labissiere has generated a huge buzz in Memphis and throughout the south. A skinny, but skilled, big who is originally from Haiti, he's known as a shooter and a guy who can run the floor at 6-9.
School: Lancaster (S.C.) High
The Buzz: For a four-star shooting guard who ranks No. 37 nationally in the class of 2013, not many know a lot about him. Thornwell has good size and is a fine athlete but hasn't had a lot of exposure. That should change with his Team United travel team hitting the Nike EYBL circuit this year.
7. Devin Booker
School: Moss Point (Miss.) High
The Buzz: His father, Melvin Booker, is one of Missouri's all-time great players and to listen to coaches in Mississippi, Devin is well on the way to following in his father's footsteps. A 6-foot-4 shooting guard who has been putting up huge scoring numbers as a sophomore, he's expected to hit the travel circuit with the Alabama Challenge and has drawn Steph Curry comparisons.
School: Philadelphia (Pa.) Vaux
The Buzz: The 6-foot-4 point guard took the Reebok Breakout Challenge by storm last summer and was solid at other stops. One of the most physical guards in the class of 2013, it will be interesting to see how his game has progressed since July.
9. Bobby Portis
School: Little Rock (Ark.) Hall
The Buzz: A verbal commitment to Arkansas, Portis really started to show signs of life on both ends of the floor late last summer. A long and thin 6-foot-9 post player who can run, he has a chance to be a high level rebounder/rejector with some offense if he's starting to fill out.
10. Marcus Lee
School: Antioch (Calif.) Deer Valley
The Buzz: The 6-foot-8 forward just missed the 2013 Rivals150 coming out of the summer and has had a strong junior campaign. College coaches and trusted sources in the area have all been raving about the scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking of the three-star junior.
[rl]